Shadow Feather
by Mysteryguy12
Summary: Sephiroth's part in the Kingdom Hearts storyline. How he got there, what he did, why he did it. What connection does he have with Riku? How does he feel about Cloud now? Story is complete. R&R please.
1. FREEDangel take care of hearts

Er…it's my first go at making a fanfic and no one has explained anything about disclaimers to me yet…so…I'll be on the safe side and just state now that Sephiroth, Jenova, Cloud, Heartless, Kingdom Hearts and God do not belong to me. I love Final Fantasy 7 and love Kingdom hearts for bringing back the best villain ever to be displayed on a screen. Well…let's go for it, eh?

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 1

FREEDangel

(take care of hearts )

"_Mother? Where…where did you go?"_

It had always been dark in the Core. Darkness reigned and all that could be seen was the slowly pulsating stone called Holy. Mother hated that stone. More than anything else, she hated that stone. And I hated myself for not destroying it.

"_I…can't see you."_

It shone so bright. Ever pulsating, ever opposing us. Mother and I. Soon it would be gone though. The last of Mother was approaching. Reunion would come to pass. Together, we would be a God.

"_Where are you?"_

Something went wrong, the Planet aided them, aided _him_. As they fought, we saw all out work slowly fading, the light increasing while the red light from heaven slowly diminished. The sadness that this brought Mother was so impossible that it brought me grief beyond understanding.

"_Please…"_

And then somehow, she was gone. I was thrust into darkness. The light of Holy disappearing. Confusion, followed closely by fear, and then an intense anxiety of my newfound solitude forced me to call out. I called out to the last strands of Mother that I could find. I found _him_.

"_Come back."_

We were one, the traitor and I, inhabiting the same mind, the same consciousness. But neither of us was content with that. Intense rage boiled inside both of us and as I raised my blade to strike, I fell once again into darkness.

"_Mother…"_

He had defeated me. Somehow, that being of my own flesh had struck me down. What mockery of reality was this? I could no longer feel her, could no longer hear her guiding voice, could no longer feel the warmth of her love and trust that she had confided so greatly in me. So I drifted in that darkness, alone and cold from lack of caring.

"_Come back to me, Mother."_

And so I drift here now. Alone, cold, in this desolate wasteland devoid of the love I once felt, devoid of the beating heart of Mother that I could always feel before.

"Devoid of heart?" a deep bass voice resonated from inside the dark void, "how wonderfully…ironic."

With a snap, my body reattached itself to my consciousness. The jolt was so sudden and painful that I fell forward with a gasp, nearly vomiting in the process. Somehow, my mind had slipped away from my body without my noticing. As the feeling slowly returned to my limbs, I opened my eyes. That seemed to do a lot of good. The scene was completely enveloped in darkness so deep and consuming that it threatened to crush me where I stood.

And indeed, I was standing. My hair slowly brushed across my bare back. In my left hand I discovered that I was holding the Masamune. It quivered, as it often did in times when my life was at risk. I drew it slowly and scanned the choking darkness around me.

There was a sound from my left; feet scuffled in the darkness, a small giggle, and then silence. Suddenly, thousands of orbs of yellow light erupted from the darkness. Small shadows overlapped each other in the golden glows. Here and there, a creature in its entirety could be seen, illuminated by the eyes of those behind it. They giggled quietly, twitching with excitement.

Truly, it was a terrible sight. The chattering shadows danced and writhed in a mass all around me, rhythmically swaying and bobbing to some unknown tune being played in the silent darkness. Entranced, I never noticed the large shadow approaching from behind.

"Very ironic indeed," the deep voice resonated again.

The shadow thrust a dark appendage into my right shoulder blade. It seeped slowly through my insides, groping and reaching, searching for something. I fell to my knees, breathless and racked with pain. Masamune lashed out on its own accord but the shadow creature seemed to almost melt out of the way, continuing to feel its way towards my heart.

The smaller shadows chattered louder and louder until they were screeching with glee. Dark fingers began to close around my heart. Lightly they stroked it and then began slowly to pull it from its place. Masamune whipped uncontrollably at my shadowy assailant. Thrusting and slashing with unnatural speed. Cutting again and again, but hitting nothing.

Gradually, my heart was loosened from its cavity and torn from my body. As it departed from the last centimeter of flesh on my back, I felt my entire body go stiff and the Masamune ceased flailing and fell limply to my side. Quietly, I keeled over, turning to fall lightly upon my side, facing the one who had removed my heart. The dark apparition held my heart, glittering in the palm of its hand. A ghostly smile flickered into place and it let out a small purr of excitement.

Its shadowy body morphed swiftly into something of a human shape and began to bring my heart to its newly formed maw. A small silhouette of a tongue slipped out and slowly slithered up and down the glittering object. With widened eyes, it tilted its head backwards and pushed the heart into the void of its mouth.

No.

I will not let this disgusting creature take that which is mine. I will not allow something so simple as a shadow to take my heart. Above all this, I will not allow this being to live.

Slowly, so slowly, I pushed myself up. Quaking arms propelled me onto my knees again. The shadow looked down at me with confusion but continued to swallow its prize. I was breathing heavily. Unable to hold the weight of it, I dropped the Masamune to the ground. How long I kneeled there I will never know, but the chattering of the shadows slowly died down until the lack of light matched the lack of sound. My assailant stopped and looked curiously at me, as if asking what I thought I was planning to do.

Panting strongly, I raised my right hand and faced my palm towards the bulging mouth of the shadowy individual.

There was a flash of light, a crashing noise that reverberated, amplified by the silence, and there I stood, with my heart in my hands and my arm through its throat.

It stood there, bewildered and unsure of what had happened. The yellow eyes began to dim slightly and it reached to its throat to feel my arm and where I had thrust through up to my shoulder. Then it dissolved, dark flesh melting into the darkness that surrounded it. I grasped my heart stiffly and thrust it against my left breast. It entered into my flesh and fell back into place.

Rejuvenated, I leaned down to recover the Masamune. I looked to the remaining thousands of shadows and once again assumed the position in preparation to destroy every one of them.

After all…who's afraid of the dark?

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Not too bad eh? I say it's my first fanfic but I've been planning this for a while…so I don't know if it counts. I honestly don't know how original I'm being here, I haven't done any research into my topic…but tell me what you think…I wanna know if it's worth continuing. You can flame if you want…though I can't see what you would flame as of yet…I just want as much criticism as you can give, constructive or not. So…go for it. I already finished chapter two…but I won't put it up til someone gives me a good review. Later.


	2. Blind Battle Mindtug Fracture

Shadow Feathers: Chapter 2

Blind Battle + Mindtug Fracture

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The Masamune hummed through the air, cutting through about five shadows at once. Upon finishing its horizontal curve, I brought it upwards and cleaved through yet another three shadows, watching their dark bodies disappear into the gloomy dim area that surrounded us. Whirling around and around, the Masamune covered my naked body in a wall of slashing metal. Shadows leapt towards me in vain hopes of disarming me, only to be hacked into nothingness before their last foot left the ground.

As I danced in and out of the crowd of circling golden orbs, my mind slipped away and I once again gave in to the thrill of the kill. Slowly, their numbers decreased until there were as few as perhaps three hundred eyes warily pacing around me. They had stopped attacking me and now waited.

"You plan to retreat?"

I struck, with untouchable speed, at the nearest shadow. As it burst into dark blotches of nothingness, another creature dashed forward, extending shadowy claws. I sidestepped the pitiful attempt; like water I flowed directly behind the beast and cut down on the base of its spine.

After some time of obliterating the shadowy assailants, I surveyed the scene. Two hundred eyes stared back into mine, two hundred feet shuffled back and forth in a crazy dance of bloodlust, two hundred tiny hands clenched and unclenched in anticipation. One hundred more of these tiny bastards remained.

I was not tired. No, Mother had helped me to surpass silly barriers such as fatigue long ago. My rage, on the other hand, had lessened greatly, and I now stood there, facing these hundred with only the cold instinct of survival running through my veins. But then again, that was all I needed.

Something strange was happening. The quivering mass of two hundred eyes was melting together. Slowly the eyes disappeared. There was no light anymore. Then, just as suddenly as they had disappeared, four great slits of gold appeared forty feet above my head. They have…combined into some sort of giant version of their initial selves. Two of them.

Deep booming sounds echoed through the darkness. They were laughing. The two beings shook with glee at what they believed to be my misfortune. How ignorant. I raised my right hand and pointed it at the giant on the left.

"Descend, Heartless Angel."

The ground shook and colors inverted, nearly blinding me with the brightness of the white expanse before me. A shocked giant gasped and burst into nothingness. In seconds, the last molecule of the being was obliterated and darkness returned to the scene before me.

The remaining giant seemed to stare in horror at where his partner had once stood. I stepped forward. It twisted its head to stare at me. I stepped forward again. The yellow orbs widened in fear.

One step forward.

There was a crash as the giant took a step backward, away from me, away from what it feared. In seconds I was kneeling behind it as its tentacle-ridden head fell from its shoulders. In a colorless poof it vanished and I was once again alone.

Minutes, hours, perhaps eons passed as I stood there, watching darkness ripple in front of me. I did not know where I was, but neither did I care. What really mattered was that I needed to find where Mother had gone and why I had survived.

"I'm sorry, do you miss your mother?" the deep voice once again resonated in the dark expanse.

My eyes shifted to look all around me as I spoke. "And who are you?"

"Excellent, questions are essential in order to know anything."

"Is that a fact?"

"And those who know nothing can understand nothing."

By then it was clear where the speaker was located. I sat down and placed Masamune at my side. Then I closed my eyes.

Inside my mind the walls flashed and flickered with images of my past and present. The traitor, mother, the ancient, Mako, the Masamune, Shinra, Hojo, Gast, Lucrecia, they all shimmered on the iridescent surface of my mind. The whole place shone an eerie royal blue and accentuated the man standing in the middle of it all. He had not noticed that I was there yet so I began to stroll towards him. He turned, with a look of surprise flickering across his face. Swiftly, I reached him and grabbed him by the throat, thrusting up against a flashing image of the Shinra mansion.

The silver haired man smiled in a snakelike manner and honey sweet words fell from his lips. "Let us not be so hasty, I do believe that I know something that would be of great value to y-AAAAAGHHH!" A shriek of agony tore from his lips and his eyes widened and began to fill with tears.

I ground my fist slowly into his stomach, hooking my right forefinger behind his bottom rib. The room faded from blue to a steely grey.

"You were never given permission to enter my mind."

Sweat poured from his forehead and he gasped for breath. "I…ah…I only came to…ow…help…erhh…you."

Snap.

His rib cracked in half between my fingers. He screamed. "Shut up. I don't need any help, much less from such a weakling as you." I lightly rubbed his next rib, taking it between my forefinger and thumb.

"Please…I can help y-AAAAAUGGH!"

His second rib fractured under my grip. I left it whole, but cracked and waited for him to speak again.

"I know…euugh….wh-where…agh…Cloud is."

At the mention of the traitor, the room turned a terrible shade of blood red. Violently, I gripped two ribs and crushed both of them. Flinging him to the ground, I shot a venomous glare in his direction.

"I should kill you where you lie for that comment. You should never have looked through my memories!"

"Curaga." Green leaves and two golden bells materialized above the man's head. He shuddered slightly and then shakily rose to his feet. Long silver hair fell messily past his shoulders. "But despite that, you will not kill me.

'You know that I am the key to escaping this void where you are trapped. You know that I can lead you to your enemy. You know that I am the only one who can help you get your mother back. You will not kill me, because you need me."

He smiled an omnipotent, condescending smile. The gall of this man, to think that I needed him. Once again I closed the gap between him and me and brought the back of my palm across his face, sending him sprawling. He scrambled quickly to his feet. While he was in the process of regaining his balance I made a quick jab to his stomach. His breath drove out of his lungs and he leaned over in shock.

"Cur-"

I brought my knee up to his forehead, lifting him from the floor with the force of the blow. He did a complete somersault before landing, spread-eagled on the ground. He writhed there for several seconds, clutching at his head. The room was slowly changing colors, returning to the cold steel hue that it had adopted before.

"C-c-curaga." The green light once again appeared above the man's head. Wincing, he stood up and looked at me. A silence began to stretch between us. He was, of course, afraid to speak. I waited, watching the man become more uncomfortable by the second. Sweat began to form on the crease of his forehead. After a time I spoke to him.

"I do not 'need' you. Your services are not by any means required. I am immortal. In time I will find my way out of this void and I will find Mother. I will carry out Reunion and Mother and I shall become a God. The only help you can possibly give is to lessen the amount of time it would take me to get out of this void. I am a patient man, and do not care to hasten things without reason.

'You should realize by now that you can not leave this place until I allow you to. You will tell me how I am to escape the void and in return I might allow you to live. Your other option is to die here, now. Give me your answer."

Something in his face changed. A look of anger, rage and indecision washed over him. His eyes flashed red and his fists clenched.

"You…you think that you can keep me here? You truly believe that _you_ can defeat me? I am Ansem! I hold more power than you can possibly imagine! Soon I will control Kingdom Hearts! You _fool_! I do not need you at all! Prepare yourself weakling!"

Insanity had closed its hand over the man. I stood, without emotion, watching him. He leaped away from me and cast his hands about in some strange summoning ritual. After several seconds of this, a shadow creature materialized behind him. It was muscular and had a large white "X" over its mouth and chest. Ansem laughed maniacally and screamed at the top of his lungs, "SUBMIT!"

With suprising speed, Ansem and the shadow creature closed the distance between us. The shadow leaned around Ansem and made a large sweeping motion, as if to grab me. I struck with Masamune at the outstretched arm and a deafening clang echoed through the room.


	3. Blackguard pale horse with no carriage

Erm…I don't own any of the characters here. Any of them. At all. Forever.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 3

Black-guard

(Pale horse with no carriage)

"W…what?"

Ansem's dark guardian floated in front of me. Its right arm was strained against the Masamune. It shook with the effort of repelling it. My own arms quivered slightly as my muscles groaned at the intense strength it took to hold the being at bay. Its white eyes stared into my own Mako-ridden irises. We stood there for a long time, testing each other, testing ourselves. In strength we appeared to be…matched? No. It was difficult to say quite what we were. Then, slowly we pulled apart with renewed wariness. We had both underestimated the other. Ansem appeared to be enraged.

"How! How could you stop my guardian! We are invincible! This…this is impossible." As he screamed at me about the absurdity of the situation I stared down at the sword in my hand. Masamune quivered…almost in embarrassment. Never before in all our time together, had Masamune failed to cut something. The blade never dulled and I was the only one who knew how to use it. With my skill and its fantastic quality, we had cut down thousands of enemies before without any trouble. Why now? This truly was…impossible.

"It doesn't matter! SUBMIT!"

Once again the shadow and Ansem rushed at me with impressive speed. Instead of attempting to block the oncoming blow I ducked under it. The tip of the Masamune dragged across the ground and then flipped over. I placed my palm on the bottom of the hilt and then thrust upward at the throat of the guardian.

The point drove directly into the bottom of the shadow's chin, spraying sparks upon contact. The blade stopped. Masamune shivered from the pressure I was applying and the shadow guardian resisted the push with everything it had. Once again we spun apart, readying ourselves for the next attack. The walls of my mind faded into a cautious dark yellow hue. Ansem, now silent, stared at me with disbelief.

Slowly I raised my hand and directed my palm at the guardian's head. A look of sudden realization and horror flashed upon Ansem's face. Within seconds he was closing the gap to prevent my magical assault. They moved too fast. The shadow swung its fist for my skull but I danced away. Ansem did not let up on his assault. His guardian thrust his fist outwards to my torso but I spun out of reach. He aimed for my legs but once again I evaded and whirled around to his backside.

I opened my palm again to aim at the guardian. Ansem screamed and they struck towards me again. It was too soon for me to complete the spell they expected, but I had no intention of doing so.

"Pale Horse."

The guardian's fist stopped inches from my ribcage. Slowly, any part of him that was not already entirely black became so. Then the entire room went white. Blotches of shadow formed all around and converged upon him. It let out a deafening howl that was absorbed by the brightness surrounding him. There was a flash of dark light and the room once again returned to normal.

Ansem gasped in shock as he beheld his guardian. What remained was the head, the right arm, and a bit of torso connecting the two. It bled darkness onto the effervescent floor beneath them. The room flashed into a pleasing shade of purple at the thought of my triumph. Ansem fell to his knees. He was breathing hard in short gasps. The dark blood that fell from the guardian was beginning to form a small puddle at my feet, it spread fast, covering nearly ten feet within moments.

"C…curaga."

The yellow bells formed this time above the floating remains of the guardian. It shook while wincing in pain and then dropped a foot from the air.

"Curaga."

Ansem looked broken and detached. The yellow bells formed and once again the guardian winced in pain. He fell another foot until his fist hit the ground.

"Curaga."

Still the guardian remained in disarray.

"Curaga!"

A look of anger flickered across Ansem's face. The shadow fell into the puddle of his own blood and lay there, helpless.

"CURAGA!"

The bells rang and the guardian let out a whimper of pain.

"Dammit. DAMMIT! Heal damn you! CURAGA! CURAGA!"

The guardian writhed in pain and howled. The terrible noise shook the room and made me clutch at my head in pain. Ansem was crying now. The guardian splashed his blood on Ansem's face in his convulsions and they mixed with his tears.

"CURAGA! CURAGA! DAMMIT! Curaga! Cur…cura…cu."

Suddenly the bells stopped coming. Ansem screamed and wept. Howled his spell but no more bells appeared. In his fit, his MP had somehow ran out. It was a pitiful sight, the two of them. Bleeding and crying. I stepped forward, unsheathing the Masamune. Ansem looked up with a wild look in his eyes. Twenty feet of blood soaked ground stood between us. His disheveled hair fell over his face and he smiled crazily at me.

"He'll be at the Coliseum. You'll find him there. You'll find them both there. All of them! The wing and the key. You'll find them there. Do not go there first though, oh no, come to the Empty Fortress instead! The…the Hollow fortress! Yes. You'll meet a real God there. He will take you to them! YES! THE KEY AND THE WING! BUT YOU'LL HAVE ONE TOO WONT YOU? WON'T YOU? COME TO THE HOLLOW CASTLE TO FIND THE GOD THE KEY AND YOUR WING!" Ansem howled with insane laughter and then sunk into the blood darkened flood beneath him. I felt his presence leave my mind and return somewhere I couldn't follow.

I stood there for a time, watching the walls flicker with images of what had just taken place. The walls flashed with the fight with the guardian and Ansem's mad tirade. He had spoken about wings. Mother had given me wings. In our final battle together against the traitor, she had transformed me into a seraph with six bright white wings and one black wing in place of my right arm.

Go to the Hollow Castle…

I let myself slip out of my mind and into realty. My eyes were shut but there was light beating on my eyelids, bright light…light…from a sun. I opened my eyes. I was sitting on a floating piece of rock. There was water falling all around me. It was as if I were on the inside of a waterfall. Ahead, more floating islands of rock hovered weightlessly above seemingly solid water below. The rocky platforms extended ahead of each other, each one higher than the last. At the top I could see some sort of gateway with a long string of something extending from it. The string was cast off into thin air until it reached another gateway on the other side. The gateway was attached…to a floating castle.

I grabbed the Masamune from my side and stood up. I looked down at myself to see that I still had no clothes though I was not terribly surprised. With a sigh I focused my mind on the gateway and closed my eyes. I felt a rush of wind and suddenly I was standing beneath it. The castle loomed in front of me. It seemed to be uninhabited for the most part. I began to walk along the edge of the platform.

Slowly, I made my way upward and then into the castle. I passed room after room, devoid of any sort of life. I did not have a plan, only that it seemed logical to make my way to the center of this place. I walked onward, through giant hallways and strange libraries. Finally I heard voices.

A slow and deep voice floated from out of the room at the end of the hallway. "…the boy's strength is not his own."

A loud and scratchy voice cackled out next, "Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough!"

A strangely accented and somewhat whiny man spoke up, "And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."

A deep, almost jolly voice rang out, "You're no prize yourself!

"Shut up!"

Then a woman's voice permeated the air. She sounded dark and knowledgeable. "Enough. The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful..."

A key…

I strode toward the door. I listened to the murmurs of agreement from inside at the woman's comment and then thrust open the door.

A chorus of swears and yelps issued from the dark room.

"SHIVER ME TIMBERS! THERE'S MUTINY FROM THE AFT!"

"OOhhh NO baby! That's doesn't ride with the BOOGIE!"

The room was filled with the motliest crew I had ever seen. Six figures stood around a glowing green table. There was a woman in a long dark dress with jagged sleeves. She held a long scepter and wore a strange hat that gave her the appearance of having horns. On her right seemed to be…a sack…in the general shape of a human being. It had holes for eyes and a mouth. On his right stood a man in red with a tiny pointed mustache. He wore strangely ostentatious clothing and on his hip wore a tiny fencing sword. His hat was enormous. Next to him…well…the woman wasn't actually standing; she didn't have legs. The obtuse, purple tinted woman rested on several writhing tentacles. Beside her stood a tall, thin man with a long golden staff with a cobra's head carved into the top. His long face ended with a small jagged goatee. To his right stood a tall man in dark robes. He was blue. His head was also on fire, with blue flames. He had a very imposing prescence about him.

"Well buckle me shoe straps, he's naked." The red clad man stared dumbly at my exposed body.

The horn hated woman spoke up next, "Who are you? How did you get here?"

I stood in the doorway for a long time, staring at the scene before me. It was all very surreal to be sure. Quickly I regained my composure and unsheathed the Masamune. I held it, pointed at the woman before me. "Is this the Hollow Castle?"

The sack spoke from across the table where it had retreated to. "Baby this is Hollow _Bastion_ ya dig? But you got the right idea." The woman waved her hand to silence the sack creature. She looked into my eyes and spoke to me again.

"I suggest you lower your sword, if you wish to keep the arm that holds it." I gazed steadily back into her emerald iris and addressed her again.

"You mentioned a key before. Do you know anything about wings? Or gods?" The blue man stood up straight and burst into smoke.

He reappeared beside me and spoke with a very business like tone. He said, "Gods? Well you came to the right place my boy. I myself, happen to be a god, the god of the underworld in fact. What can I do you for? How about some clothes, eh?" He snapped his fingers and suddenly I was covered in a long trench coat with metal shoulder pads. The leather sleeves fit closely but comfortably around my muscles and upon my legs I wore very comfortable leather pants. Several members of the group sighed in relief. "Don't worry about paying me back, that one's on the house alright?"

I didn't trust the clothes I was wearing but I couldn't sense any magic inside them. "Who are you?"

"The name's Hades. It's nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand.

The leading woman stepped between us and brushed his hand aside. "It seems you require our assistance. You do not seem to be of this world so I can only assume you escaped the darkness of your own. I am Maleficent. Who, are you?"

I watched her for a time. The others in the room shuffled back and forth with anxiety. Hades seemed to have a very contemplative look on his face.

"Sephiroth."

"Pleased to meet you. What is it that you wish from us?"

"I need nothing of you. I wish to go to the Coliseum. I was told I would…find _him_ there."

"The key bearer?"

"I don't think so. An enemy of mine."

Hades clapped his hands loudly and smiled. "Well aren't you in luck! I happen to live near the Coliseum! I can take you there…for a price…"

"No deal."

His face fell. "It's not a big deal at all you know? I just need a favor in return for your trip."

"I don't do favors. I don't make deals."

He looked at me for a while. The blue fire on his head cast funny shadows all around the room. "I can see you're pretty set in your ways. That's a shame; I suppose the Sergeant bed-head with the big sword will have to do."

The world stopped. I couldn't breathe. My eyes shook and widened in recognition. With perhaps no time passing at all, I grabbed Hades by the front of his robes and pulled him down to my level. Inches from his face I spoke with quiet menace, "Who…will have to do?"

"Hey hold on there, calm down buddy I was just…"

"Who are you talking about!"

"Geez…some kid I hired to kill Hercules, blonde spiky hair…big ol' sword…said he's looking for someone and he'd do anything to…"

"What is his name?"

"Home if I know…something fruity…Sky? Cloud? Yea it's Cloud."

"Take me to the coliseum or I will kill you and everyone here."

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I feel like Sephiroth meeting any Disney character is crazy taboo but we'll see how things work out I guess. I want some more reviews dammit! Review! Anything I don't even care what you say! Later.


	4. Crossing the Nexus

Erm…I still haven't taken over Square or Disney…so…the characters do not belong to me. I will remedy this in time. Watch out Nomura.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 4

Crossing the Nexus

(behold thine winged foe)

There was a long silence. I stared with cold conviction into Hades' eyes. He did not look away. Several times he blinked, each time altering his face slowly toward a look of incredulous disbelief. On the other side of the glowing green table, the sack and the pirate both took turns coughing uncomfortably to fill the growing silence. My words ultimatum hung in the air like some ominous bird, watching for someone to show weakness so that it could sweep down and fulfill the promise.

Maleficent stepped forward and spoke softly, "Sephiroth, there is no need for such a thing to take place. If you were to assault our council, I can assure you that you will not leave here alive."

The tentacle-footed woman spoke up from the back of the room. "She's right you know. We're an awful lot stronger than you might think from the looks of say…Boogie over here."

The sack flashed a venomous glare at the woman, or as venomous a glare as a sack could give, and then spoke in retort. "As our own deep sea octo-woman said, we're all pretty strong. I wouldn't suggest underestimating us."

The tall thin man with the turban began to speak slowly in an almost hypnotic tone, "Yesss…it would be very unwisssse to possssse idle threatsssssss." I noticed that his staff was glowing slightly.

Suddenly my body felt very sluggish. It became a struggle to keep my eyes open. I dropped to one knee and let go of Hades' cloak. I was breathing heavily, there didn't seem to be enough air about me and as I pushed myself to my feet I felt a pinprick on the back of my neck.

The pirate whispered into my ear, "Your intrusion was acceptable but to threaten us is unforgivable. With my sword I will lay you to rest. Don't worry though, we'll make you into a truly fantastic Heartless." The pressure on my neck increased slightly then I felt the sword point leave my skin entirely. The pirate drew back his sword, paused and thrust it swiftly towards the nape of my neck.

With a bone shuddering jolt, Masamune whipped from its place at my side upwards to send the pirate's blade careening towards the ceiling. The pirate fell over in shock and let out a string of obscenities that didn't make any sense to me. Masamune quivered slightly, holding my arm steadily in the direction of my opponent's throat and then once again dropped to my side.

"Fantastic!"

Maleficent stepped forward with widened eyes. She stared at my sword in awe, smiling with a clearly devious intent. "It must be magical. Is it not?" Though I had no desire to speak, I could not even if I had tried, I could barely stand up, let alone control my speech. "Jafar, release your spell."

"But…"

"Do it."

Jafar grumbled slightly and I felt the magic that was constricting my body slip away. Quietly I steadied myself and took a brief look around the room again. These people had powerful magics, but they're different from the spells I'm used to. My guard was down and they took excellent advantage of it. These people were not to be underestimated.

"Let me see your sword."

Maleficent held out her hand towards me. I watched her discolored fingers unwind to reveal a greedy palm. Masamune shivered with a tone of warning. I smiled inside and said to myself silently, "I know Masamune, I am the only one who can wield you. You needn't worry that I would forget that." Maleficent was now beginning to look impatient.

"Hand me your sword, I do not intend you or it any harm. I wish to inspect the magic that surrounds it."

"I am the only one who can wield the Masamune."

Maleficent sighed and said, "I do not wish to _wield_ it, simply to inspect its magical qualities."

"If you touch the hilt of my sword, it will kill you."

A look of realization crept across the witch's face. "Ah. I see. It is one of those sorts of enchantments. Well then…Hades, inspect the sword for me."

Hades looked up from his examination of one of his fingernails. "Que pasa? What? Why do I have to do it? I'm no handy man with magic."

"Because you are a God, and Gods can not be killed save for the very few methods that exist. I do not believe this is one of them. So I ask you again, inspect the sword."

"Enough." I interrupted the feud between the two of them and then proceeded to make my stance on the issue very clear. "I do not wish to part with Masamune for any reason to anyone. I will not allow it in either of your hands." Maleficent scowled darkly at my comment but did not press the issue. Hades shrugged and went back to scrutinizing his fingernail. There was another long silence until the sack broke it.

"So uh…if you don't mind me asking you…why do you want to find this 'Cloud' person so badly?"

"That is not of your concern." I dismissed the sack with a wave of my hand. It made me uncomfortable to look at the thing. Strange indeed. I focused back on the alleged "God" in front of me. "Hades, do you plan to take me to the Coliseum?"

"Well I'll tell you right now," he began. "I won't do it for free, no matter how much you threaten."

I frowned slightly and took a moment to consider my options. There was something about this place that told me the Coliseum was not nearby. Somehow I felt that the Coliseum was on another planet entirely. I also felt that I could not reach it through my own power. Hades was not asking anything out of my ability. An assassination was not difficult. Cloud was there. I knew it now. I could find him. There was no reason for me not to go along with the "god" except for my own stubbornness. What a ridiculous sentiment, being stubborn. I was growing far too emotional in Mother's absence.

"What is your price?"

"Excellent! Now we're talking. Ok so here's the deal. There's this guy, right? A hero, his name is Hercules. He's smart, he's strong, the ladies love him, he's what everyone should ever want to FUCKING BE LIKE!" with the last three words Hades became incased in bright red flames. His anger sent a shockwave through the room. For a few moments he shook with rage and took deep ragged breaths. After about ten seconds he stood up straight, took a deep breath and continued his speech with the same calmness that he had before hand.

"So I want him dead. And that's where that Cloud guy comes into play. It's his job to take him down." He idled up close to me and whispered in my ear. "But to tell you the truth, I don't think he can really do it, so I want you for back up alright?" He stepped back, surveyed me for a moment then said, "After that, you guys are free to do whatever the Home you want alright?"

I nodded.

"Excellent!" He held up a hand and a small piece of parchment appeared in his hand. "Now if you'll just sign here…initial here, sign here…in blood." I followed his instructions but altered the spelling of my name should I change my mind about it all and then the contract burst into flame and left a small pillar of smoke where it had been. Some poor Sefiroth was now bound to Hades' newest contract.

Maleficent stepped forward again and spoke to me. "Sephiroth, you may live here in Hollow Bastion once Hades teaches you how to travel between worlds. We shall stay in touch. It seems to me that you would make a powerful ally in our endeavor."

"I do not care for the plans of others. I will help you only if it suits me, which will probably not be the case. So please, do not bother me with useless pleas for assistance."

"Very well." She then turned to the rest of the group and addressed them all. "We shall disperse for now. Do not forget your roles in all of this. We will undoubtedly meet again. Farewell for now."

The people in the room slowly exited through the two large doors that I had entered through. Finally, Hades, Maleficent and I were the only ones remaining. Hades leaned on my shoulder and proceeded to explain the process of transporting oneself from one world to the next. In essence, it was not all that different from the way I teleport. It mainly revolved around knowing where you are going and keeping your mind clear of distractions. He told me that initially, the only way to travel from world to world was to use Gummi Ships, but once you traveled to a planet, if you were powerful enough, you could do it simply by focusing your mind.

Hades said that it was a very dangerous process and that a single stray thought could land you right in the nexus of worlds where you can easily be devoured by darkness and lose your heart. The secret was not to fear the darkness because once you began to fear it, you lost your control over it. It is the darkness that allows us to travel between worlds and only by knowing the paths and workings of darkness can you hope to find your way through it.

Initially, he explained that I would need to maintain physical contact with him in order to follow. If I broke contact then I would probably become lost in the nexus due to my inexperience with the teleportation. He explained that it was not a weakness of any sort, there was just no need to take the risk of getting lost.

"So grab on and hold on." I took a handful of his robes and braced myself for whatever was to come. "And were off!"

What happened next is difficult to explain. The room we were in did not melt away, it did not disappear in a flash of light. It didn't fade into darkness. It simply wasn't there anymore. There was something about the transition that told me that it hadn't _stopped _being there…it just wasn't there now. Nothing had moved, no one had changed places. The setting was just different now.

I recognized my surroundings. I was in a large expanse, very similar to the one that had the shadow creatures in my escapade before Hollow Bastion. There were no shadow creatures here this time though.

"We need to move quickly otherwise the Heartless start to stir," Hades said. I felt a slight tug on my hand and I stated to move. I wasn't walking, the though of movement was propelling me on its own. As I followed Hades I realized that this place was not just darkness without any signs of direction. There were small lines, wisps of nothingness; they could be described as simple thoughts, remnants of what a trail would be. Hades followed these deftly. The further we traveled, the clearer the outlines became to me.

"Ok…so about now a heartless or two should show up, pay them no mind, they're not fast enough to follow someone who knows where they're going."

I heard a giggle to my right and turned my head to see two glowing eyes. It quaked with delight at the sight of us and began to follow with a leaping, jerky run. Hades was right in what he said and we soon lost it in the darkness. I heard another noise from far to my right. It wasn't the giggle of the smaller shadows.

"Dammit…Neo Heartless…they're more difficult to avoid but the odds of that one catching us isn't very good."

I watched it as it began to run towards us. As it's leaping gait brought him closer and closer to us I felt my right shoulder begin to ache. Hades seemed to pick up the pace and I held tightly onto his cloak. The Heartless was getting closer with every leap and as it neared us, the ache turned into a throbbing pain.

With my free hand I gripped the area and winced as the throb came again and again, stronger each time than the last. It felt as if there was something buried inside me, right beneath the skin that wished to escape.

"Ok, time to put the jets on here." Hades began to move faster and faster, I gripped his cloak with all y strength because he was starting to pull away. The heartless was close now, mere feet from my backside. The pain was nearly unbearable. I felt something pounding against my skin from the inside out. It was all I could do to keep myself from screaming. The Heartless saw that we were pulling away and it made one final leap towards us. Its shadowy fingers brushed lightly across my right shoulder.

I felt my shoulder burst into pieces, something came tearing out from it. I let go of Hades and fell to my knees. Hades grabbed my wrist and pulled me along without looking back. I did not feel any blood, but I knew that something had torn its way out of me. I couldn't look back, I just kneeled there, pulled by Hades, and screamed at the ground. Slowly the pain began to subside and I took to my feet.

"Ok, now that you can stand we're gonna make our way outta here and check out what ails ya."

The same strange sensation that had some across me before when we entered the nexus came again as we left it. I was in a large open area with a dirt floor and large columns surrounding us. The nexus hadn't disappeared, it just wasn't here anymore. I would one day understand what had happened. I swore myself to that.

Hades took a deep breath of the air around us then turned to me and said, "So what exactly happened to you back…whoa." A look of surprise took his face and he stared at something slightly above and behind my right shoulder. "How long have you had that thing? I have really got to pay attention to my surroundings more."

I felt something in my flex. Some muscle contracted and relaxed slightly. It was a new muscle, something I hadn't ever flexed before. I looked over my shoulder to find a large dark wind protruding from my back. It had large dark feathers and stood out nearly two feet from my body.

"The wing…"

Memories of my encounter with Ansem came rushing back to me. My mind began to play the last raving moments of the man before he had escaped. "BUT YOU'LL HAVE ONE TOO WON'T YOU?" Could this be what he had meant? "COME TO THE HOLLOW CASTLE TO FIND THE GOD THE KEY AND YOUR WING!"

I brought myself back to the present moment. With a conscious effort I flexed the wing outwards and then in again. It didn't pose any difficulty nor did it cause me any pain. Well, that was not entirely true. Looking at it reminded me of Mother. It reminded me of how she had loved and trusted me, how she had fused with me, how she had given me power and wings. She had made me a Seraph.

This one black wing was not so different from my last. "My one winged angel," she had called me. "Bless these people with the red light from heaven. Surpass Holy and let us become God."

I flexed the new appendage once again and then I felt it begin to slowly dissipate. The dark feathers began to fall to the floor and it slowly shrunk into my shoulder again. When it was finally gone from sight I sighed and looked back at Hades. It felt comforting, knowing that I had a wing again. Something told me that it was a gift from Mother, some sort of reminder that she was still there, somewhere.

"So…uh…where did that come from?" Hades looked puzzled and lost.

"I'm not entirely sure, although, it doesn't really matter."

Hades made a small circle around me to stop at my backside. "Yeesh…wherever it came from, it left one nasty looking scar."

"Oh?"

"Yea…looks like something a Heartless would leave."

That was a very interesting comment. It very well could have been from when my heart had been stolen. The Heartless had struck my right shoulder…that was a very interesting idea.

Suddenly, voices emanated from the large door to the building behind me.

"You guys ain't heroes!"

"Come on!"

Hades turned to me and said, "Well…it looks like its almost time for my job to commence, I'll send you somewhere where with a good view of the action." The rough voice from the coliseum doors drifted out once again.

"If you guys wanna be heroes, start by mastering this spell."

Hades patted me on the shoulder. "I'll see you later, remember, no messing with your little friend before the contract finishes, eh?"

Then the air around me erupted into dark smoke. When it all cleared I realized that I was standing with an excellent view of what appeared to be the fighting grounds of the coliseum. Upon surveying my position, I saw that it would be almost impossible to recognize me from ground level. I sat down and began to meditate on my new position.

After perhaps half an hour, a boy with a key strode through the doors leading into the arena. He was followed immediately by a large duck and a strange creature resembling a dog of some sort. The two followers were fully clothed. The duck held something of a magic staff and the dog had a shield. The boy held a large key in his hand. They took fighting positions in the arena floor.

Four large human shaped Heartless creatures appeared along with three smaller shadow creatures wearing blue cloaks and small pointed hats. The battle was nothing spectacular. The boy and his crew had a difficult time, taking more damage than necessary from the blue Heartless' ice attacks. When they had finally defeated their opponents, they struck brief victory poses and then wandered back to the door from which they had entered. A small goat creature waited for them there.

As he spoke I recognized his voice as the same one that had talked of mastering spells. "You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching."

The doors to the arena slowly opened behind them. One leg passed the threshold, followed by the other. A man with a long flowing, if somewhat ragged, red cape came striding into the room. He looked down at the boy and his friends who returned his gaze. Without pause, the man passed the group standing by the door. The goat-man spoke to the boy with the key again.

"Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing him."

The man strode onto the arena floor and took a readied stance that I knew all to well. He crouched slightly and raised his large sword to face the oncoming enemy. I glared down at the blonde haired man in the arena floor. I gripped the pillar that I stood on with all my strength, denting the stone. On the floor beneath me, Cloud began his first preliminary match of the tournament.

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Woo…it's been a difficult ride getting Cloud into the picture…didn't expect it to take four chapters. I spruced up some of the other chapters a bit…changed the thing about which shoulder the heartless stole his heart out of from the first chapter to fit this one….that's pretty important. I think it's going quite well…not much else to say…Read and Review! Later.


	5. Screw you, Teach!

Still don't own any of the characters or places mentioned in this piece of writing you see below.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 5

"Screw you, Teach!"

(godhood revisited)

The match was over in seconds. Cloud's Buster sword was a blur of motion. He took out all four armor clad Heartless in one swing and chased down the three smaller ones who had fled to the edges of the arena. My blood boiled as I watched him walk out of the fighting grounds. In a rage I unsheathed Masamune and began to leap from my hiding place. A hand clapped onto my shoulder and restrained me.

"Whoa there bucko…I hope you didn't forget our contract here, did you?"

"Let me go, Hades."

"No can do, buddy. That boy and I have a little deal worked out. You see? And I can't have you getting in the way just yet."

The giant doors closed behind Cloud as he finally left the arena. I took a deep breath and sheathed my blade once again. "You're right; I am getting ahead of myself. It would be unwise to face him with such blinding anger. I will wait for a time."

"Hm, whatever you say. Just don't screw with my contract alright buddy?"

I nodded absently and then leaned back against the pillar once again. Several other contestants entered the ring. Most were beaten down by either Heartless or Cloud. The young boy with the key made his way through several matches with various types and amounts of Heartless. As I watched I began to see the outcome of the tournament, Cloud would face the boy in the end, if the boy could make his way through one more round.

The key bearer and his friends were just celebrating over their newest victory; it was actually quite a pathetic fight, so I scanned the rest of the arena. In a dark caged alley leading off from the main floor, stood Hades, talking to Cloud. I focused my attention on them and began to listen in on what they were saying.

"…your next opponent, okay? Now, don't blow it. Just take him out," Hades was saying.

Cloud looked up at the God leaning over him and said quietly, "The great God of the Underworld is afraid of a kid? I'm sorry, but my contract says-"

Hades blew up in anger. Red flames spout from his head and he screamed at Cloud, "I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract! I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament." He took several deep breaths and then continued. "But you've gotta fight that kid to get to him. Come on. Hey, it's like that old goat says: Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it! I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?"

There was a short pause while Cloud looked down at the ground by his feet and then got up and slowly walked into the Arena. It reminded me greatly of the times when he would act so cold and condemning to Zack and I before I found out the truth. The boy thought he was dark and mysterious. The fool.

Hades pulled at his chin in retrospect and said, "Geez…stiffer than the stiffs back home. Still…suckers like him are hard to come by…" Then from behind him came a deep growl.

I watched from on high as the boy completed his final match with the Heartless and Cloud took to the floor. I already knew that he would not kill the child, could not kill the child. He would defeat him easily enough, but he would never kill the boy.

The match was short and brutal. Cloud darted around the ridiculous team of "heroes," dealing blow after blow. He would jump into the midst of the three and swing his sword, knocking all of them back against the barrier. Within perhaps thirty seconds he had knocked the duck unconscious. As he began his assault on the dog-creature, the boy attempted to attack from behind him.

When Cloud finally smashed through the tiny shield of the dog-creature, causing him to crumple, unconscious, to the ground the boy brought his keyblade down upon Cloud's exposed back. Cloud lurched forward slightly under the impact and then leaped away from the boy as he tried to follow up on the attack. I let out a small chuckle under my breath. Cloud had gotten weaker somehow. What a fool, what an ignorant fool.

The blow unlocked something within my enemy and he raised his sword again to deliver his final blow upon the boy. With blinding speed, Cloud dashed forward to come to a gut wrenching stop about a foot away from the boy. The key bearer looked up in horror as Cloud's red cape rushed around them. The boy turned to run but Cloud raised his sword and cut horizontally. Before the blade touched the boy's skin, it was turned so that the flat of the sword came smashing into him, sending him careening across the arena.

I looked in the direction of Hades. He was shaking with anticipation. The goat man rushed from the sidelines and raised his hand, signaling the end of the match. Cloud looked at the broken and unconscious team of misfits in front of him and then turned to walk out. The boy and his friends slowly regained their feet. Cloud turned once again to look at them. He slowly shook his head.

It was impossible not to notice, a giant, black, three headed dog materialized behind Cloud. Something about its entrance told me that it was coming from the nexus. It raised a giant paw and then brought it down upon Clouds back, smashing him into the floor and causing his sword to clatter across the stone. Hades sighed with a look of resign taking to his face.

"Oh, right, there was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." He then proceeded to walk further into the dark hallway.

Rage gripped me. Hades had betrayed the bargain. I unsheathed Masamune, intending to kill the dog and then take chase of Hades. The giant beast reared backward and began to bring his massive paws onto the boy and cloud at the same time. I felt my rage summon my wing and it burst outwards in a shower of feathers. Suddenly the beast stopped in mid-rear.

"HERC!"

A heavily muscled man stood beneath the monster, holding it upwards.

"Phil! Get them out of here!" he screamed to the muscled man. With that, Phil and the boy ran for the door, followed closely by his companions. Hercules gave a solid punch to the beast's abdomen and sent it sprawling across the floor. He then reached down and scooped Cloud and his sword into hand. He ran to the doors and placed them there with care. By now the beast had regained its feet and was now charging at Hercules. With inhuman strength, he stopped the charging animal and threw him across the arena again. He pointed at the struggling figure and yelled, "Cerberus! Go back to your master! You will accomplish nothing here!" Six eyes narrowed in anger and all three heads let loose great fireballs towards the man.

He dodged one but was knocked off balance by the second and took the third one full on. Cerberus leaped toward Hercules and snapped downward with the middle head. Teeth flashed and then snapped shut. Hercules had managed to dodge out of the way to the left. Like a black streak of lighting, the right head struck down and clamped its jaws over its foe. From my standing point it looked as if the beast had devoured the hero whole.

Suddenly it was lifted into the air. Beneath Cerberus, Hercules stood, grasping one giant fang in each hand. He brought his arms downward, smashing Cerberus into the ground. Then he brought his arms upwards again, lifting the dazed dog into the air. He brought his arms down again, and again, and again until the dog's left head summoned a fireball and let it loose on the unconscious figure at the doorway.

Hercules blanched and hurled the dog with such speed that it made contact with the fireball in mid-flight and knocked it off course. When Cerberus finally rose to its feet, Hercules had reached the opposite end of the arena and slung Cloud over his shoulder. Slowly, without sure footing, Cerberus walked towards Hercules.

The doors suddenly flung open and the key bearer and his friends rushed through. Cerberus turned his three heads in surprise and focused on its new enemies. Hercules and the boy made eye contact and nodded briefly. Hercules dashed around Cerberus and out the door with Cloud. Phil hobbled out of the door and screamed to the boy, "Kid, I got two words of advice for you: ATTACK!"

Cerberus rushed at the group in front of him, I could see that his vision was off as well as his balance, but it would be a formidable fight for such an inexperienced fighter like the boy.

It was then that I realized that I should not be wasting my time watching this fight. I should be chasing after that traitor Hades. I focused my mind on the place where we had arrived on this world and teleported there. When I opened my eyes I saw that he was not there. I teleported to the dark corridor where he had exited the arena only to find that he was not there either. I glanced at the arena to see that the boy had nearly defeated Cerberus. I could not find Hades here, not until he returned to this plain of existence. I watched as the boy dealt the final blow to Cerberus and left the arena

I followed them, keeping out of sight, listening at the door as the boy was deemed a "junior hero" by Phil. I pictured the initial area Hades had brought me to in my head. There was a large column against one of the walls. The boy and his friends left the room with Phil and Hercules. I focused on the shadowed part of the pillar and felt my body change placement as I materialized there.

I heard the boy speak to someone, "So…why did you go along with him anyway?" After his question there was a short pause.

"I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." Cloud's voice sounded through the open courtyard. I smiled slightly at his words, so heroic, so responsible, so blatantly cliché. "I fell into darkness and couldn't find the light."

I looked around the pillar as the boy said, "You'll find it, I'm searching, too."

"For your light? Don't lose sight of it." Cloud walked toward the boy and dropped something into his hand. He started to stride across the courtyard when the boy called out after him.

"How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square? No dark powers involved."

Cloud stopped and turned slightly. He looked inquisitively at the young boy and ran his hands through his blonde hair. "I think I'll pass." Then he walked back into the Arena. The boy opened the other large door and left that way.

How precious, Cloud had made a new friend. I heard a large poofing sound and whirled around to look at the center of the courtyard. Hades was standing there, staring at, and talking to, a small moving image of Hercules in his hand.

"He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect." Hades burst into flames and crushed the image in his hand. It disappeared in a puff of smoke and he screamed ,"Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy." He gained control of himself and continued on, "Wait a minute. What are you talking about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both."

He stopped talking to himself and glanced behind himself. "Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show."

I nearly stepped out from the pillar I was standing behind. My stomach dropped at the prospect that he could so easily sense my presence but then I heard another voice from the opposite side of the courtyard. "As you wish, fight to your hearts content."

I whirled around the pillar to see Maleficent disappear into the nexus. I cursed myself for not noticing her and then remembered that Hades was still there.

"Hades!"

He turned in surprise and smiled benignly. "Sephiroth! Buddy, what's happening? You look annoyed, what happened?"

In a flash of motion I drew Masamune, dashed forward, whipped the blade out, passed Hades and sheathed Masamune again. We stood there for several minutes, back to back. After a time, Hades turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"So…I take it I did something that made you a little bit upset?"

I turned around in exasperation and screamed at him, "Upset! You were going to have him killed! You betrayed me!" I took several deep breaths and spoke quietly. "Hades, I do not take betrayal lightly."

"Betrayed you? You mean killing Cloud? Aw come on…you were gonna just do it later weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Then what difference does it make? A dead man's dead no matter who kills him, right?"

"Hades, if you do not have a damn good reason for this digression, I will have to kill you."

Hades' jaw dropped. He stared at me as if I were insane and then slowly began to laugh. It began as a giggle and grew into a roar that reached the very heavens. "You're gonna kill me? Seph, baby…I am a God. I don't know what it is that you can't understand about that…but in all odds, you don't have what it takes to kill me. Don't get me wrong, you've probably got the combat ability, just not the equipment." He turned around and waved a hand dismissively in my direction. "Your sword may be magic but it still can't kill a God. So bugger off."

"Do Gods bleed?"

Hades turned around with a look of exasperation on his face. "Do we…no. We don't. The only time we bleed is when someone hits us with the correct equipment. Now leave me alone."

"Then what is it, that's coming out of that cut on your cheek?"

"Wha…" Hades reached up to a small cut along his cheek and pulled around with a dark purple liquid clinging to his fingers. His eyes widened and he stumbled back in fear. "Y…you can…you c-c-c-cu-cut me!"

"Yes Hades, yes I did. Now, I am going to leave this place. I have no business with traitors. I will follow Maleficent back to Hollow Bastion. Train Cloud. He has much to learn before I can speak to him. Do this and I will not kill you."

A tidal wave of emotions crashed down on the God's face. Anger and rage came first as he heard me make my demands. Fear and thoughtfulness came next as he considered his position and finally a look of grudging acceptance came over him and he nodded his head and grumbled an agreement.

"Very well. We will meet again, do not disappoint me."

Hades mumbled a meaningless insult in my direction as I closed my eyes. I felt the world be replaced by nothingness as the Nexus became my new surroundings. I opened my eyes and set off, following the trail left behind my Maleficent, wondering exactly what had come over me.

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Ok! So…we're heading back to Hollow Bastion now…"But I thought this was about Sephiroth and Cloud?" WRONG! I have much more planned for this particular story. Thank you so much kmsaum for being so cool and reviewing! Woohoo favorites! It's like we're best friends! Also thanks to Unita and of course Kamikaziguy my first reviewer ever. Rock on everybody and get ready for a wild ride! (I love liberal use of clichés) Later.


	6. What strange eyes you have

I don't own anything except the computer that I wrote this on.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 6

What Strange Eyes You Have…

(remember the white room)

The Nexus was still as strange a place as before. Time existed but chose not flow in any rational pattern. Thoughts were more tangible but senses were dull. I scanned the area around myself, looking for some sort of a trail to follow. I recalled how Hades had been able to follow strange paths in the nothingness, memories of matter. I found what I was looking for soon enough.

There were slight indentations in the darkness. My eyes couldn't really see them but my mind knew that they were there. When I tried to focus on the indentations, I found that my eyes tried as hard as they could not to. As a result I looked at them through the corner of my eye. What I was looking at, however, was still a mystery to me.

What I had perceived as indentations weren't really indentations at all. They seemed to be memories of an indentation that had just been created. Wherever Maleficent had tread, those places remembered her. Even then, the time flow here was not as simple as to leave it in the past tense. Her footsteps hadn't just happened when she passed through the Nexus; they had always _just happened_, but never actually taken place.

The notion made my mind reel with the idea that time was actually an uncertain occurrence in this place. Time only happened on occasion; but what was in between? If time only came every so often, how could there be an often? The very word, "often," is simply a generalization of a measurement of time. Wasn't it?

I shook myself clear of all this confusion. I would ponder these things later. Right now, I am in extremely dangerous territory. The thought of following Maleficent came to the forefront of my mind and that thought began to propel me through the nothingness in front of me.

I watched, carefully, out of the corner of my eyes to see my progress. Maleficent's trail became slightly more defined with every indefinable moment in the Nexus. Distance wasn't actually existent but I still felt as if my journey was long. Every so often I heard a giggle, and would turn slightly at the noise. It turned out only to be a small Heartless, looking at me with lust in its eyes.

After a long…time...I stopped moving. I felt an overwhelming sense of rightness in the place I had stopped at. The area was so incredibly _correct_ that I felt myself begin to fade into reality without my conscious consent. I halted myself and then focused on where I knew I would be.

I was in the meeting room of Hollow Bastion. Something inside me told me that it was no longer the same day it had been when I left. It felt like nearly a week since I had left, and somehow that seemed to be perfectly reasonable. I reached my hand out to assure myself that the walls were indeed real. My fingers caressed cold stone.

"Ah, Sephiroth, I was wondering when you would emerge."

I turned with a slight bout of surprise to find Maleficent standing in the doorway. "Maleficent," I acknowledged.

"Hades told me of your…'outburst,' if you will," I placed my hand on the hilt of my blade. Maleficent brought her hand to her mouth and let out a small cackle. "Oh you have no need to worry, I agree with you entirely. Hades needed to be reminded of how much power he _really _has." She gave a small smirk. "He complained a lot about your 'orders,' but he has followed them to a T. Cloud is being trained in the Coliseum, and no real harm will befall him."

"That is good."

"Indeed," Maleficent gave me a calculating stare for a short time and then continued, "I think it is time that you were told of our plan. Come, there will be a meeting soon and you should know what it is we plan to accomplish sooner than later."

Maleficent strode over to the green glowing table and beckoned me towards it. For a long time she explained to me how they sought the seven Princesses of Heart in order to open Kingdom Hearts and connect all worlds. They sought the powers of Darkness and opposed the one who bears the keyblade. That was the boy from the Coliseum, his name is Sora. Apparently they had already managed to capture several Princesses, the most recent being a girl named Jasmine from a world called Agrabah. Jafar, the man with the turban had been lost in the battle against the keyblade wielder. This was very surprising to me. To think that the weak child could defeat a sorcerer with powers such as his.

Jasmine was being transported to Hollow Bastion by a new pawn in Maleficent's plan. A young boy named Riku. Sora's friend. Maleficent had turned them against each other and is now using Riku as a warrior of her own. When Riku arrived, Hades would join them for a small conference. She advised that I stay in the shadows and watch from there. I agreed that it would be unwise to face Hades so soon.

I walked to the far side of the room and melted into the shadows there. Maleficent smiled benignly and there was a loud poofing noise as Hades appeared.

"Aw jeez! I tell ya, crossing the Nexus really does a number on my joints." He proceeded to snap several joints about his person.

"Indeed."

The door flung open an a young boy burst inside. He looked not to be much older than Sora was. He wore jeans under what appeared to be a loosely attached pair of baggy pants legs. The shirt he wore was yellow without sleeves, and rather skintight. He strode over to the green table where a short moving image of Jafar's death played out before them. He watched it intently. Riku had silver hair that reached down to his shoulders. He was built very much like a boy who favored the sword. He reminded me of myself when I was his age.

"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em if someone had stuck around to give him a hand," Hades shot at Riku.

Riku shrugged lightly, the picture of confidence and aloofness. "Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess didn't I?" He sounded like I did as a child.

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred," she glanced meaningfully in Hades' direction. "One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely."

Hades stepped backwards and held out his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, ok?" He turned and said to Riku, "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

"Huh?"

Maleficent waved her hand at the green table. It glowed softly. "We had a deal, yes? You helped us, and we grant you your wish…" An image of a girl laying unconscious flickered into view.

"Kairi!"

"Go. Your vessel is waiting."

Riku looked at Maleficent. A look of suspicion caused his brow to crease. I shifted in the shadows to get a better look at the boy. By chance, I caught a glimpse of his eyes…

The door burst open and the pirate with the rapier took a few steps inwards and then motioned for the boy to follow him. "Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage."

His eyes were so strange…

"Why are you doing all of this for me?" He turned to Maleficent, "what's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch?" Maleficent took a step towards Riku. "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." She reached out a hand to touch his face gently. Riku raised his own and angrily shoved her outstretched fingers away. His eyes flashed with fury and power.

"I seriously doubt that." Maleficent stood back from the boy and smiled slightly.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain." Riku stormed out with the pirate in tow.

The color of his eyes was so familiar. Such an odd color for eyes to be, no one had eyes like that. Such a perfect mixture of blue and green. Such a wonderful color. The only other person with eyes like that was…

I stomped out of my hiding place with such speed and hostility that I nearly smashed into the green table. Hades blanched and Maleficent looked slightly taken aback. I gripped the table and cracked the stone. Maleficent opened her mouth to speak but I interrupted her.

"Where is he from?"

"I beg your par-"

"WHERE IS HE FROM, WITCH?"

"I don't understand what y-"

And suddenly I was standing beneath her. My hand gripped her forehead and wrenched her from the floor. Her staff clattered to the ground and she let out a small scream. "WHAT WORLD DID HE COME FROM? WHERE? TELL ME!"

Hades stepped forward from his place on the other side of the room. "We think he came from a small world called Destiny Islands." I winced and hurled Maleficent across the room. She hit the wall with a thud but landed on her feet, slightly woozy.

"NO!" Everything was wrong. This boy couldn't possibly be another. "THAT IS NOT WHERE HE IS FROM!"

"Well…that's where he came from last."

"He can't be. I know he isn't. There is no way."

"We-"

"I DON'T CARE!"

"Quiet." Maleficent spoke out from her place against the wall. "I searched his memories. Everything he can recall takes place on Destiny Islands." I punched a sizeable hole in the wall and was about to scream again when Maleficent continued. "But, there is a gap. He can not remember anything before the age of two. Normally this is a regular occurrence. People forget things they do at that age. Riku's memories, however, do not seem to be forgotten, but instead eradicated. There is a space of nothingness where memories should be. It reeks of the Nexus."

I paused and began to furiously align the thoughts in my head. A gap, the Nexus, eradicated memories…

"Someone may have traveled between worlds when the boy was young and somehow destroyed his memories of anything in the previous world."

"Exactly."

I stood there for a moment in thought and then walked towards the large wooden doors. "Leave me be. If anyone disturbs me I will kill them." I wandered the hallways of Hollow Bastion for a long time until I finally came to a library. I placed Masamune on the table in front of me and sat down into a large comical looking chair.

I had seen his eyes. I knew what they were, but it still couldn't be possible. That world had been destroyed. Time could not be so lax as to let him age so much in that time. Cursing myself I remembered the Nexus and its effects on those who travel through it. It let the traveler out at the right time. It had taken me a week to reach Hollow Bastion. It had taken Maleficent a day at most to find her way here. I had not faltered in my path, she had not moved faster. We had just reached the same destination at the time when it was most important for us to be there.

The Nexus did not work in the interests of time, but instead in the interest of fate. That which is fated to be will never be missed due to a particularly long travel. Always, will you reach your destination in time. I knew this was the truth but it went against everything my life had taught me. I had grown up amongst scientists. I was no lab assistant, I had been the experiment.

Hojo.

This couldn't possibly have been his doing…he had died, he had been murdered months before Cloud had reached the Core. Could he really of created such a terrible mess so quickly before he died?

But his eyes. His eyes did not lie. Those effervescent spheres held all the truth I could possibly need. I knew why they were such a wondrous color. The only thing that could make ones eyes such a shade was Mako. Cloud had eyes like that, I had eyes like that. Zack had eyes like that as well although not nearly so bright as ours. He was just a Soldier he hadn't been one of the numbered.

Where was Riku's number? Surely the boy would have discovered it. Surely he would recall some faint memory of a white room with a pale man in a white coat. That man leaning over him and staring so happily through his spectacles at you because you existed. Because you were the perfect little ball of facts and data that he had always been waiting for. You were his next grant. You were the one that he had killed for, the one he had betrayed those he loved for. The one that he had given up love for. And what did you need to do? You just needed to kill.

Is that what you are, boy? The last of that insane man's insane experiments? Are you the final version of me? Do you have Mother grafted into your DNA? Do you hear her speaking still? Are you gifted with her perfect voice? Are you the one who took her away from me?

Hojo! Was this your intention? Did you truly intend to strip me of her heavenly voice so that you could just create another me? Did you want someone who wouldn't hate you? Did you create him because of all those days I would stare at the back of your lab coat and hope so fervently that you would just somehow die like everything else you let me near in that spotlessly clean white room?

I closed my eyes and began to speak out loud the thoughts that plagued my mind.

"Or is it because Cloud was your failure? The numberless experiment that you gave up on because you thought it wasn't even worth it? What made you create this new me? Does he have Mother inside like I used to? And who is looking after the boy now Hojo? You could not have meant him to find an end alone in a new world."

"Oh I wouldn't think that's what he wanted at all."

Without opening my eyes I reached forward and unsheathed Masamune. The blade snaked out as a silver blur. It cut through the air, splitting molecules of nitrogen and oxygen as it went. The blade passed through the area where the voice had came from…and passed on. As the blade came around I stood up, turned in a complete three sixty degrees, adding momentum to the blade and then swinging upward at the ceiling.

I heard a slight yelp and then a rushing of air as the owner of the voice leaped through the air. Masamune cut a deep gash into the ceiling and came away clean. Eyes still closed I took off after the sound of rushing air. When I felt as if I were in range I once again flicked out Masamune in a sideways arc.

Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind and I heard a long laugh from below. I landed atop a bookcase and opened my eyes. I turned slowly and gazed downwards at the other man. He shook with laughter, wild red hair shaking with his heaves. He wore all black and no skin showed save for his neck and head. He cackled gleefully and clapped his hands together.

"This is _fantastic_!" he let out a loud roar of laughter. "Such prowess in battle! With your eyes closed even! Oh my, but that was _fun_!" I stared at the red-headed man with a calm expression. "Oh dear, but you're not terribly smart. Can't you see I have information for you?"

"I have no need for your information."

The redheaded man shook a finger and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Tsk tsk, I think you do. You see…I know all about you, Sephiroth, and Riku as well. That is to say…I know more than you do."

"I do not care."

"Oh my, so hasty aren't we? That's such bad manners, not listening to what others have to say. We can't have that. Now, Sephiroth…I know exactly what kind of person you are. You were always in control. You always knew exactly what was happening. You were always the one pulling the strings, and as a result, you will never let anyone pull _your_ strings again."

"I do not need to hear this from a punk kid like you." I teleported behind him and tore Masamune from my side in a deafening blow that sent shockwaves through the library.

"Come now…I wasn't finished speaking." The man landed on his feet on the top of the nearest book case. "As I was saying…you can't stand to see someone pulling your strings so you act like your in control and you kill anything that keeps you from that delusion. I come to you with a request."

"I will not hear it."

"Well it would be a shame for me to come all this way and not have you hear it so here I go-" My feet wrenched from the ground and I flew headlong at the redhead. My right leg flung out and made a strike for his torso that he easily sidestepped. Using the momentum from the first attack I spun around in mid air and heaved Masamune around in an arc. The man ducked and rolled out of the way and I brought my left fist smashing down on him. With surprising agility he unfurled himself and evaded my punch. I brought Masamune down to cleave a great rift in the bookcase, narrowly missing the man.

As out acrobatics continued on, the man began to speak. "I request that you listen to me as I tell you everything you could possibly need to know about Riku, and Hojo. As a result, we will be pulling a string of yours." He managed to lean back just in time as my leg extended upwards to his head in a swift snap kick. "We know just how much you hate the idea of being used but we assure you that if you were to ever find out the information I would simply give to you now, and act upon it? Even then would we be pulling that single string." Breathing a bit more raggedly, the man spun away from a thrust of my Masamune. "Worry not, Sephiroth. The strings we pull do not affect you…directly…and it would all be to your advantage to listen to me now an-oops!" Masamune snaked out swiftly, biting into the man's clothing and cutting a shallow mark into his skin. "Ouch…that kinda stings. I understand that now wouldn't be the best time to ask you to make a decision…but I will nevertheless. Sephiroth, will you hear me out or will I be forced to fight back, not knowing who would survive?"

With one final downward slash at the man, I hopped away from him and paused. The redhead crossed his arms and waited at the other end of the bookcase. He was clearly a powerful fighter. Using nearly three quarters of my power I had only managed to make a shallow harmless cut in him. Who knows how hard he was fighting…certainly not to the best of his ability. In a fight I could probably kill him, but I would leave that fight with at least several wounds.

Not to mention the fact that he had used "we" at some point. He had colleagues. People who would not take his death lightly. If I killed him, how long would I have until they sent more? Not enough. If I listened to him…the only thing that would really be damaged…would be my pride. Pride…I thought I had gotten rid of that long ago. Apparently not. Apparently it had only grown stronger because there was never anyone who could question it. The answer was obvious…but still so difficult. The redhead was right in so many ways…he knew how I thought.

I returned Masamune to its sheath. "Fine…I will hear what you have to say."

The redhead clapped his hands with glee and shouted, "Excellent!" He stuck out his hand and strode forward, stopping an arms reach away from me. He stood there expectantly, looking from my face to his hand and back. "I suppose a hand shake is out of the question?"

I did not dignify him with an answer and instead asked, "What is your name?"

"Ah yes…how rude of me. My name…is Axel."

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'Ello? Wha's all this then? I must say that my story is progressing in plot faster than I can think it out…I hope its still good…and that I can eventually come to some kind of rational conclusion to all of this…but that's doubtful. I will try my best though…I thought bringing in the XIII order was a bit iffy…gimme your reviews so I can gauge how acceptable it is. God it hurts so much to have Sephiroth not be in total control of everything…but if he was this story would be pretty boring. Ok…shout out to xsaturnine for being the coolest girl ever and reviewing. Why are all the signed reviews by girls? I don't have a problem with it but I had always thought that guys would be very attracted to story about Sephiroth as well. Don't worry xsaturnine…if I haven't already worked out the whole Planet vs Hollow Bastion thing…I will at some point. R&R! Later.


	7. Puppet Strings and Angel Wings

Ugh…it can't possibly be healthy to update so much…I am pouring my soul into a little glass flask that is this fanfiction…

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! CURSE YOU NOMURA!

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 7

Puppet Strings and Angel Wings

"Riku…as you call him...was indeed created on the Planet. Hojo performed the same experiment that created you and did it instead to create Riku. He altered Riku slightly, to be more obedient and less obtrusive, less of a killer. When you had reached your place in the Core of your Planet, Hojo was confronted by Cloud and his teammates. Hojo suffered a defeat but did not die. He fired the Sister Ray at you, in hopes to give you just a little more power, to complete your goal.

"He crawled, dying, into the laboratory where Riku and his mother were. In his final moments, he opened his heart, spirit, and body to Darkness. Such a gift to Darkness merits intense power that cannot be long controlled. In the throes of death and transformation, Hojo stepped into the Nexus with the boy and his mother. By now I think you have a general idea of how the Nexus works, am I correct?" I nodded slightly.

"Good. The Nexus welcomed Hojo, the boy and his mother. Hojo worked and traveled tirelessly throughout their journey. He performed surgery on the mother's memories, changing them to fit a story on their new world. He put so much power into this, it left him with barely enough to begin on Riku's. As a result, he could not alter his memories and simply obliterated them in hopes that it would be enough.

"When finally they came to rest in their rightful place in the Nexus, not a one of them had aged at all. Riku and his mother found themselves on the world of Destiny Islands."

I stood there, processing the notion in my head, in the most obscene way, it made perfect sense. "And what of Hojo?"

"Hojo remained in the Nexus and was swallowed up by Darkness. He became a Heartless."

"He always was."

Axel let out a peal of laughter. "So condemning." He straightened up and continued to speak, softly now. "You have noticed that Cloud is weaker, yes?"

"I had."

"Almost as if he had lost experience? Yet his body is older is it not?"

"Perhaps, but people do not age so quickly."

"Normally a true statement, but the Nexus works in strange ways."

"But he could not have become so much older."

Axel laughed lightly, "And why not! The Nexus does not carry your body through it, it transports only your soul, heart, spirit and mind. You cast off your body each time you enter the Nexus. When you leave you enter a new body that fits itself to your soul, spirit and mind. Time does not plow rationally there, is it not possible that fate could have required Cloud to be older when he emerged?"

"It is possible, but…"

"But nothing. No one can control the Nexus. When you enter it, no matter how important you believe it is to get somewhere at the right time, you could very well end up somewhere entirely different before you left, at an age appropriate for your task, in a body that was created for your job.

"Cloud is younger. A year after you were defeated, your world became connected. Heartless descended upon the Planet and only those with strong hearts found a way out. Cloud descended in Hollow Bastion, in a body of a boy 21 years old. There were others that came with him from his world and he met another boy 24 years old. On Hollow Bastion, one year passed in peace and then it too was taken by the Heartless. Cloud stayed and fought a heroic battle against the Heartless and was separated from the group. Before he died he cast himself into the Nexus and landed in the Coliseum. His friends, using a vessel to escape from Hollow Bastion, found their way to Traverse Town. Several months later you emerged from the Nexus in Hollow Bastion. And that is where we are now.

"Riku, a fifteen year old boy, Cloud, now twenty-two. The Nexus is a strange place indeed. There is no doubt, but you must learn to accept it and continue on otherwise you will fall." With his last words I felt everything I had worked for slowly slip out of my hands. I wasn't the one controlling things anymore, and it hurt. It hurt so much.

"And how do you know so much?"

Axel smiled and placed his hands on his hips.

"Ah…now that wasn't part of my request was it? No…you are not to be told anything about me or who I work with." He turned his back to me and glanced over his shoulder, "Maybe next time." And with that, he vanished into the Nexus.

I stood atop the bookcase for nearly an hour, feeling my mind whirl with blurry images and thoughts. I was too tired to sort them all out now. Too tired. If only Mother were here. I leaned against the wall and sunk down into a crouch. I was too tired, too lonely. It was all catching up to me. I didn't know what to do at this point. Everything had always been within my grasp…and now…

And with those thoughts coursing through my mind, I fell into a deep sleep.

When I awoke, I stood up, feeling empty and made my way to the meeting chamber of Hollow Bastion. My feet dragged along the corridors and I had to steady myself against any walls I could find. I did not know how long I had been asleep for. I did not care…I only wished for someone to talk to. It was a strange feeling, dependency.

When I reached the great doorway to the room, I heard voices from inside.

"So…Kairi's just a lifeless puppet now?"

Puppets…how long I had been the one controlling them. Cloud, his friends, Rufus, Shinra, even Hojo.

"Precisely."

"And her heart was…"

"Taken by the Heartless no doubt."

Riku's voice grew louder in worry and hope. "Tell me! What can I do?"

Maleficent began to speak softly, with great mystery in her voice. "There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart. Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless."

There was a sound of struggling for several seconds and then someone's feet hitting the ground. Riku spoke with new conviction, "Soon, Kairi. Soon."

I heard his footsteps approach the doors. Something, some wild instinct inside me, told me that we should not meet yet. I focused my jumbled mind on the inside of the meeting room and warped inside just as the doors came open. I saw him turn and walk away before the doors closed.

"Ah…Sephiroth, I didn't hear you come in." Maleficent looked at me with slight amusement. "What brings you here?

Words began to fall from my lips without my consent. "That boy, Riku…what did you do to him?"

"I gave him the power to control the Heartless. Just as I can."

"Why? What will happen to him?"

"I don't quite know what you mean?"

"Can he do it? Can he control the Heartless?"

"Riku? He can. But he is at risk of being swallowed by the darkness if he does not tread carefully."

"What?"

"He can easily be swallowed by darkness. But not to worry, he will accomplish his job long before that happens."

"You mean it will?"

"I don't understand."

"Riku will undoubtedly be swallowed by the darkness?"

"In time yes. He does not have what it takes to truly control the Heartless."

"Take it back."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Take the power back."

"I will do no such thing."

"TAKE IT BACK!"

My scream echoed through the chamber. I stood, hunched over and shaking with some unfathomable mixture of emotions. I felt a lump in my throat and clenched my hands until I couldn't feel them anymore.

"Take back the power. Do not let him die. I won't let him. I won't let him die. Hojo made him for me to look after. I know it. I know it so take back the powers."

Maleficent, struck dumb by my outburst, gaped at me.

"Please…take them back. Don't do this too him. Don't make him your pawn. Don't let him go through what I had to. Don't make him kill for your gain. Goddammit. I won't let there be another me."

"I don't know what you mean…"

I began to sob in anger and sadness. All the years in the laboratory, Hojo watchig me began to flash before my eyes and I screamed and I screamed at the witch in front of me. "I SUFFERED SO MUCH! WHY SHOULD HE? HOJO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIM! GAVE EVERYTHING! HE CHANGED AFTER ME! HE MUST HAVE! HE WASN'T SELFISH ANYMORE! HE WANTED THEM TO LIVE! DON'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HIM! DON'T DO THIS! Don't do this! Don't…" I fell to my knees in anguish. Punching again and again at the floor beneath me as all the feelings I had worked so hard to hide came flooding back into me.

Maleficent regained her composure and said, very quietly, "I can not take back the powers. I do not have that ability. Only the boy can relinquish them. Only he can save himself now."

I looked at her through wet and sore eyes. She couldn't be serious could she? If he were anything like me at all, which he must be, he would never give up power. This was awful. I couldn't let him die. This welling of emotions burst forth once again and I lurched across the room at Maleficent. She backed away and waved her staff in a panic.

I felt a gust of hind lift me off my feet and hurl me across the room. I slammed into the far wall and felt my breath driven out of me. I crumpled to my knees and came to rest with my head on the floor. What the hell was I doing? What is all of this? Such drama, such angsting drama. I had never been like this before. I had always been so focused. So set on becoming one with Mother. I this what happens when we are separated? Am I really so weak?

I stood up slowly and steadied myself against the wall. I felt Masamune humming gently at my side. It gradually changed tones and I could hear it almost warning me that it would not be owned by such a weak individual. Maleficent made no move to approach me. I shook my head and dried my eyes on my leather sleeve.

I felt a new power welling up inside me. With a slight shudder I tensed my muscles and let my wing tear from where it had been stored away. It unfurled and stretched outwards, casting crazy shadows in the green light. I looked at it for a long time. It was a comforting sight. A dark angelic wing. It reminded me of Mother.

Something clicked inside my mind. Some small piece fell into place and suddenly I knew what it was I wanted. I wanted to…

"I'll protect him."

Maleficent stepped forward with curiosity. "What did you say?"

"I will watch out for him."

I tightened my hand on Masamune's hilt and steadied it against its quivering. "I will not let myself be so weak again," I promised it. I glanced again at my wind, I felt it slowly pulsing with power and energy, moving up and down as if breathing.

"I will be his angel."

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Oh dear…oh dear…this is a bad sign…I didn't see any of this coming. The chapter is shorter than most of the more recent ones…oh boy. I honestly think that my subconscious is running my fingers as I type this thing. I feel like the whole thing is spiraling out of control. I don't know how I'm ever going to get through to the Showdown Of Fate…aw man. I must say…I was about to give up halfway through this chapter but xsaturnine saved me with a midday update. I went on fanfiction and saw I had a new review. Thank you xsaturnine. God I don't know where I would be without reviewers…I might need to take a little break before I continue writing…I wanna make some sort of plan for the rest of this story. Erm…Oh! Before I forget…also thanks to Prinsessa Garnet, Brett A Longman and generic soda for reviewing!

Ps: If anyone has ideas, please share them. Try and have them stick to the general idea I have going though. I really want to hear where you think this should go, it might help me sort out everything I have going already.

Pps: Erm…by the time I put this on will have written chapter eight as well…got I can't freaking stop…Jesus Christ…should I just put that up as well? Shouldn't I space things out a little? Whatever…later.


	8. To Forgive Is Divine

Oh dear…I just can't stand to be off the front page…I'm such a tool.

Good lord…PSATS are tomorrow aren't they? Well…sooner…considering I'm writing this sentence at 11:32 on Friday October 14th…do I update too often? Is it bad when I dream about this story?

I. Don't. Own. Anything. At all. Ever!

Ok…so I think this is the best chapter so far…bitchin fights and an epic cliffhanger. Tell me what you think. I haven't started on Chapter Nine yet…and won't until Monday…so…too bad.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 8

To Forgive is Divine

"His angel?"

Maleficent looked as though she were about to be overcome with laughter. She was smiling quietly. "Sephiroth…no one else can save the boy now. He seeks power. Power strong enough to return the heart of the one he cares for. That is what allows people to be swallowed by the darkness." She let loose a loud cackle. "Only through complete and total selfishness can anyone hope to control the Heartless! If he tries to control them and save the girl, his heart with be stretched too thin and will break. Even now, he seeks to destroy his former friend Sora. He hopes to one day defeat him so that he can hold the keyblade and unlock Kairi's heart." She leered at me. "And then he shall be swallowed by the darkness."

I silently stepped toward the glowing table and leaned against it in thought.

"Sora…the boy with the key?"

"Yes. What of it?"

"You know where he landed, correct? When he left Destiny Islands."

"Of course I do," She snapped. "I keep a close eye on the boy. He found his way to Traverse Town and met up with some ragtag bunch of heroes from the Palace."

"Traverse Town…" Axel had mentioned Traverse Town before. "Isn't that where the previous inhabitants of Hollow Bastion fled to?

"Yes," she said with a hint of suspicion. "He met them as well."

"How can I get there using a…vessel?"

Maleficent snapped a question in my direction, "Why is this so important for you to know?"

"I think I may be enemies with several of those people is all," I lied. "I would like to have them out of my way."

Maleficent eyed me with growing suspicion but finally relented. "Take the vessel near the falls. When you leave you should take a right and then enter the nearest warp hole. When you leave the warp hole, go to the left. That's all you need to know."

"Thank you," I said politely, and then left the room. I teleported to the falls. I was in a hurry and found a large, ridiculous looking ship staring me in the face. "So these are Gummi blocks…" I mumbled to myself. I entered the ship and took a look at the controls. It was fairly simple to fly and soon I had taken off and entered space.

It was different from the Nexus. This was not instantaneous travel. This was painstakingly long space travel. For several hours I flew until I noticed a large black hole on my right. I steered toward and suddenly felt myself in a new place. It felt as if I had traveled through the Nexus, but I had come out instantly…very odd. Taking a left I flew for several more hours. Eventually I saw a large planet peeking over the edge of the window of the cockpit.

"Traverse town."

After several miserable attempts at docking the ship I left the cockpit and thrust open the large wooden doors that were the entrance to Traverse Town. It was a homely place. A cobble stone square with what appeared to be a restaurant to my left. As I walked into the middle of the square I saw people part out of my way. There wasn't a crowd but people seemed to deem it safer to stay at least ten feet out of reach.

I felt uneasy. I wasn't used to being amongst people. I wanted to turn to them and ask them what was wrong, but I did not. Instead I held my head up and walked to the next large pair of doors, on my right. Above it was a large sign that read "THIRD DISTRICT." I pushed the doors open and walked inside.

The place was abandoned. I sighed with relief. It was strange. I had never felt uneasy around people, I always felt that the fear they felt was a sign of my power. They were weak, but…now…now I felt that that is unfair. What was happening to me? I wanted to protect Riku…does that make me a hero?

I felt my wing flex slowly. Oh. People were probably just scared of my wing. It wasn't a common occurrence was it? For a man to come striding into your world with a large black wing? Not to mention Masamune. That was bound to draw some stares.

I walked out into the middle of the third district. It reminded me of the arena, so flat and large, the ideal place for a fight. I heard several loud whooshes from behind me. I turned around in confusion and then lightly chided myself for such a silly statement. Heartless, sixteen of them, stood, jerking, giggling, clanking and bobbing in front of me. They seemed to mean me harm so I slowly drew Masamune from its sheath.

One of the smaller shadows leapt forward and caught the heel of my shoe in its face. It flew back with so much force that it tore the head off an armored Heartless. The helmet clanked against the stone wall and then both of the Heartless disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The largest Heartless, a huge fat one, rumbled forward and dove at me, seeking perhaps to crush me under its weight.

Masumune unfurled from my side and cut a long vertical line completely through the Heartless before returning to my side. The momentum of the fat Heartless kept it coming at me and I thrust out my leg and split the shadow in two. It fell to either side of me and burst into puffs of smoke.

"Is this all you have?" There were now twelve Heartless left.

Hold on…

A dark line came streaking at me from above. I dodged to the left and the Heartless slammed, shoulder first, into the ground. The speed at which it was going caused it to flatten and splat all over and then burst into a puff of black smoke, just like the ones before it. Now there were twelve left.

"Honestly…are you kidding?" I dropped Masamune to the ground and gestured for them to come at me, I was in the mood for a little bit of fun and exercise. The group of twelve split, each Heartless darting in a different direction than the other. Finally I was surrounded on every side, including above me. "Very good."

I crouched down slightly and then jumped as high as I could. I flew upwards and turned so that I was parallel to the ground and facing it. As I reached a bewildered Heartless, I extended my leg and brought it up with incredible force directly between its. I made contact and tore directly through the Heartless, leaving it in two. I flipped several times until I was upright again. Two more Heartless were flying at me from below. I reached the peak of my jump some thirty feet in the air. I remained, floating for several seconds and the two Heartless sped up to reach me. They were moving, in sync, from opposite directions. They both drew back their fists and struck out just as I began to fall.

I drew my wing back and flapped it just once. It sent me spinning swiftly out of their way. In my revolutions I caught glimpses of the two Heartless as they punched each other and burst into black globs of shadow. I slowly fell back to the nine heartless that awaited me below. I watched them cluster beneath where they thought I would land. I closed my eyes and teleported.

In their confusion, I jumped up onto the head of a large bodied Heartless and stood there. It paused, as if to try and understand this new development, and then did a crazy little dance until I stomped its head into its round body and it burst into darkness as well. Four tiny Heartless leapt away in fear and the other four armored heartless began to stumble away from me.

I reached out and grabbed the leg of a Heartless. I swung it over my head and hurled it, catching two more retreating Heartless. All three let out a poof and returned to a small cloud of darkness. Now the amount of armored Heartless was one less than that of the smaller ones. I jumped forward and punched through the torso of an armored Heartless and then spun in a half circle to bring my heel down upon a smaller one. A small Heartless had leapt at my exposed back but I took hold of the armored Heartless I had just killed and used him to bat away the smaller one. Once again, all three faded away. Only two Heartless remained now. One small and one with helmet.

I dashed toward the smaller one, gripped it by the head and thrust it against the wall. It splattered and faded away. The final armored Heartless stood, or more accurately jerked wildly in place, across the floor. It stood near Masamune which was shaking violently in annoyance at its disuse. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. This had been a fairly enjoyable bout. I heard the Heartless begin to run towards me. Its armor clanked as it ran. I smiled slightly at their single minded persistence. They were a lot like ants.

Suddenly there was another sound, another pair of feet running. I opened my eyes to see a man put his foot on top of the large wall surrounding the Third district and leap from it. During his descent he screamed at the top of his lungs and brought his sword down sharply upon the running Heartless. His strike caused the ground to crack from the impact.

Before the Heartless faded away, he said quietly, "I won't let you things hurt anymore innocent people."

Innocent. Such a strange word. Entirely untrue as well.

"Are you hurt?"

"No…not at all." The man was funny…he clearly hadn't seen the beginning of the battle.

"That's good. How many were there?"

"Sixteen."

"Oh, well that's…" He paused. "Sixteen?"

"Yea. Two of them were fat, four flew and there were five armored and five small ones."

The man ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Geez…so you took care of fifteen but got disarmed? That's pretty impressive."

"Actually..." I began as I strode past him. "You interrupted me."

The man snorted and shouldered his sword. "Aren't you cocky."

I picked up Masamune and placed it at my side. "Perhaps. They did not pose a challenge."

"Do you think you're ready for the next round then?"

"Hm?"

The brown haired man shook his head and placed his hand on his forehead in resignation. "There are always a few rounds. The next one should have at least one of the more advance Heartless."

"Well when are they going to get here?"

"Take one more step that way."

I did so and there was a large whooshing sound again. I turned around in curiosity to see a large beastly Heartless standing in the middle of the area, surrounded by four large flying Heartless. The flying ones looked like large ugly birds and had wings, the one on the ground held a large shield with a dog's head.

"Wyverns and a Defender. You think there's no challenge now?" I heard the man call from across the ground.

"Not in the least."

My feet left the ground and in two lighting strikes Masamune tore the flying creatures into fourths. I landed next to the man and returned his dropped jaw with a slight smile. Turning, I sheathed Masamune and stopped the approaching shield with a swift kick to the face of the dog. The shield yipped and tore out of the Heartless' hand. The large Heartless looked worried and the started to run after the shield which had fallen on the other side of the district.

I walked up to its side and delivered a powerful blow to the side of its head, sending it sprawling across the grounds. It came to a stop against the far wall. I walked slowly toward it and raised my leg to deliver a crushing heel drop to the pitiful creature. It strained slightly and then disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Holy crap."

I turned to the brunette and gave a little smile. Being the hero wasn't all that bad. Hell, it was easier. The man began to walk toward me and held out his hand in something akin to awe.

"It's nice to meet someone else strong enough to be in the fight against the Heartless. My name is Leon."

I stared for a long time at Leon's outstretched palm. Such gestures were still a bit beyond my grasp. "I'm Sephiroth."

Leon retracted his hand, looking amused and sheathed it in his pocket. "So…where are you from? I know I haven't seen you in Traverse Town before."

"Where I'm from…that…doesn't matter anymore."

Leon looked at me with an expression of understanding. "I know the feeling."

We stood in silence for some time. Leon finally shook himself from his reverie and said, "Well…I suppose I should introduce you to the rest of the crew."

"That would be nice."

Suddenly a scream erupted from the place where Leon had entered the District. "SQUALL! LOOK OUT!"

"My name is Leon!" Leon grabbed his sword and looked all around himself, searching for signs of danger. I did no such thing and instead stared directly at the source of the scream. Leon finally stood up, content that there was no danger and yelled back at the screamer, "What is it? Are you just playing another joke on me Yuffie? You know I can't stand that."

The young ninja stood, shaking in terror, atop the District wall and pointed at me. Her voice escaped her and she mouthed something. She looked ready to collapse from fear.

"Yuffie? Are you alright?"

She finally found her voice and screamed in panic, "YOU!" With unnatural speed she reached into some hidden pocket and hurled several shuriken with impeccable aim. They flew straight toward my head. When they were feet from my face I raised my hand and swiftly grabbed them all out of the air. The ninja cursed and then began to run along the wall, hurling shuriken after shuriken.

"Yuffie! Stop it!" Leon cried.

"Squall! Get Cid! I can't do this alone!"

"Do what? Yuffie! Why are you trying to kill him?"

When I finally couldn't hold anymore shuriken, I dropped the ones in my hand and unsheathed Masamune. Yuffie flipped over the wall and landed lightly on the ground. She muttered something and an enormous shuriken appeared in her hands. She hurled it at me with such ferocity that I was caught off guard.

"Yuffie! Stop this right n-"

"NO! I won't let him ruin our lives again!"

"What are you talking about?" Leon turned to me. "Sephiroth what is she talking about."

As I evaded and blocked the oncoming shuriken, I said, "Leon, get Cid. There are some things we all need to talk about. Together."

Leon stood there, unsure of what to do and then ran out through the doors and into the First District. Yuffie's enchanted shuriken came back again and again no matter how many times I blocked it. As I leapt around the arena, Yuffie took the opportunity to gather her regular shuriken and hurl those as well. Even under the intense attack I still managed to get a good view of the First District door as it flung open.

"I don't know how you got here," Cid stood by the door, brandishing a long spear. "But I'll be damned before I let you leave."

"Alright Sephiroth! You're in for it now!" yelled Yuffie in excitement.

Cid leapt impossibly high into the air and began to fall towards me with incredible speed. Yuffie hurled several throwing stars as well as three enchanted shuriken that rebounded off the walls and came from me every angle.

"Yuffie…Cid." I began. Cid drew back his spear; lines of air began to form around the swiftly falling man. The approaching shuriken drew ever closer.

"I'm…sorry." I closed my eyes and began preparation to teleport.

Before I could fully close my eyes, I saw stars. Small stars began to fall all around me. I reached out to touch one but felt nothing. Cid was approaching so fast now, too fast for me to block his attack but somehow I felt that it didn't matter. These tiny stars kept falling and that was all that mattered.

There was a flash of yellow light and Cid smashed into me, driving me to the ground, crushing me into the concrete. The shuriken flew around him and scored direct hits on me. But somehow I didn't feel any pain.

Cid ground his spear into my chest with all his force but I knew it wasn't doing any damage to me. He let loose a short growl and then mumbled, "Planet Protector…"

He shouldered his spear and backed away from me. I let the shuriken fall off my glowing body as I stood up. Yuffie was jumping back and forth anxiously. Cid snorted and jabbed forward with his spear, cutting the ties that held Masamune at my side. It clattered to the floor. "Don't you even think of picking that up."

I nodded silently, eyes downcast. I heard Yuffie nervously yell, "What's the big idea? This is a bad idea, you know? Don't you remember what he did to you?"

Cid turned to Yuffie and said, "It's her decision, Yuffie." He then turned to look above me at the top of the wall. "I just hope it's not the wrong one."

A sweet voice drifted from above me. It soared around the District on angel wings, stopping briefly by me to caress my ears and then hurrying on to inform the others. "Don't worry Cid, it isn't."

I heard footsteps coming down the ramp to the same level as the rest of us. Keeping my eyes downward, I turned to the place she would emerge from. I saw her, from the waist down, step out from behind the wall. Her pink dress did not flow; it remained steadfast, not tight and not loose. Modest and pure to a "T." The essence of Holy itself.

And I had killed her.

"Hello, Sephiroth."

I nodded and looked upwards at the brunette.

"I had always hoped we would meet again."

I nodded. There was a long pause as the golden hue surrounding my body wore away. When it had finally dissipated, the woman's wise voice resonated through the District.

"I accept your apology," said Aerith.

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Woohoo! And here's some more Final Fantasy loving for all you fans out there. Hey…do you remember all that angsting I was doing before? About how I don't know where I'm going with this? Turned out to just be a momentary case of confusion on my part. Things are working out fine now.

Ok…uhm…things I don't like about this chapter…god dammit the Gummi Ship…Sephiroth doesn't belong in that thing. But I was getting so freaking tired of the Nexus and its godmoding capabilities. sigh I think I'm coming on too strongly with Aerith…too much to quickly. But who knows.

Things you might be wondering. How on earth am I going to keep this and still have the Showdown of Fate? Don't worry, I got it all worked out.

Things I'm angry about. Ok…god fucking dammit. I was reading through the script for kingdom hearts the other day…for research…and SPOILERS! (as if this whole story isn't one) in Hollow Bastion…when the final fantasy crew returns there…Aerith says "This is our childhood home. We wanted to see it again." I totally forgot about that…this, of course… means that I can't be nearly as true to the Kingdom Hearts story as I wanted to be…which is so disappointing for me cause that's what I wanted…oh well…feel free to give me pity in the reviews I _know_ you will write. Later.


	9. Can You Shield Them Too?

Ok…so…xsaturnine…I want you to know how cool I think you are right now. I'm like…so glad that there's someone out there who reads along almost as fast as I write. You're just the most wonderful influence toward my writing save Kingdom Hearts and its affiliated characters. You're just so wonderful. Thank you for reading.

peeks over the screen and points excitedly at characters, places and things owned by Disney and Squaresoft/Enix Holy crap! What's that? Over there? DO I own that? DO I OWN THAT!

…

No.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 9

Can You Shield Them Too?

(shake my hand!)

There had been a time when I had hated her. There had been a time when I was so blinded by my search for power that I wanted only to see her dead. There had been a time when my only goal was to rid her from the Planet. There had been a time where the very thought of this woman in pink would send my mind reeling into a bloodthirsty rage. There had been a time when I had fallen, like death itself and finally rid myself of her accursed sight.

But that time had passed. That was then and this was now. And that was all that mattered. Something had taken pity on me. Some real god somewhere had saved this perfect being from death and gave me another chance to repent for my sins. This was that chance. Right here, and right now.

And all I could do was cry. My head spun and I fell against the wall, trying desperately to steady myself against the rushing current of emotions. How many times would this happen to me? I was tired of it, being swept away by this rushing tide. I had had enough.

But I still couldn't stop. For the second time, my emotions brought my knees to the floor. I reached up and gripped at my forehead, trying somehow to put the tears back. Trying so hard not to be weak. I shouldn't be weak in front of her. Shouldn't be weak in front of them. They deserved better. They deserved someone strong. I could be that person. I knew I could.

So I punched the ground again and again because something inside me was keeping me from being that person. The stone tiles cracked and shuddered under the pounding of my fists. My tears fell onto the ground and seeped into the cracks I was creating. For the second time I wondered how on earth so much water could be falling from my eyes.

How could she forgive me after what I did? After what I tried to do? What right did I have to be forgiven? I didn't have any right. No right at all. I should never be forgiven. Not like this. I didn't deserve it. I shouldn't be forgiven, only given another chance. Another chance to somehow right the wrongs I placed upon other people. Upon these people. These innocent people.

And suddenly there were hands. Hands connected to arms that slowly enveloped me in their grasp. They were so warm. So wonderful. They ran down my back and found a place fight above my wing. They pulled me toward a body. Pulled me into something pink. I couldn't move. I couldn't return the gesture. I never could. Through bleary eyes I caught a glimpse of something brown hanging down over a shoulder.

I stayed there for a long time. Hunched over, my body racked with sobs. Finding so much more comfort that I deserved in this single embrace. I felt something soft nestle against my head and make its way toward my ear.

A small voice whispered, "It's ok to cry."

I gasped for breath and shook my head. I tried to say no, but nothing came out.

"You can cry all you want."

I shook my head again. Mouthing "no" after "no", finally a sound came out. I forgot the "n" but continued anyway.

"…o."

"And why not?"

How could she be asking this of me? How could she expect me to be able to tell her that? There was no chance, but I had to try. Not for me. For her.

"I…d…t…des…ve…t…is."

"Why don't you deserve it?"

How could she expect this from me? It was too hard. Too hard. I wanted to fade into nothing so I wouldn't need to speak. It would be so easy, to. Simply slip into the nexus and be done with it. But I just kept crying and tried so hard to answer her.

"What could I have possibly done that would lead you to forgive me? I don't deserve to be forgiven. I need to repent first. I need to do something to try and make up for the things I've done. I don't deserve to be forgiven. Not yet."

I heard Cid give a grunt of agreement and shift his spear onto the ground. Aerith pulled me close for a moment and then let go and stood up. I felt colder. She stepped backwards and looked at me. I didn't raise my head. I couldn't look at her.

"Is that really what you want?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"You truly believe that you can not be forgiven until you repent?"

"Yes."

Aerith sighed and knelt in front of me. I felt her soft fingers grasp my chin firmly and raise my tear streaked face. She looked at me with eyes full of wisdom and then, with intense force behind her words, said, "Then that is all you need to be forgiven."

I choked on my own sob and tried to pull my head away.

"Stand up," she ordered.

I did so without hesitation, but with some difficulty.

"Sephiroth, what do you want to accomplish?" The question stunned me. I hadn't expected her to be so straightforward or forceful.

"I…want to protect someone." I paused for a moment and thought about this. "No…I want to protect…several people."

"Who do you want to protect?"

The intensity in her voice made me falter. "I…I don't know."

"Then what good is wanting to protect someone if you do not know who you want to protect?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Of courses. I want to protect Riku."

"And who else?"

"And…" I thought for a moment. "I want to protect Sora." I heard Leon whisper something under his breath containing the word "key."

"Who else?"

"I want to protect Leon." I heard Yuffie giggle and Leon slap his forehead in exasperation. "And Yuffie." The ninja looked at me in utter confusion. "I want to protect Cid."

"I don't need _you_ to…" his voice trailed off as Aerith gave him a look.

"I want…to protect you."

Without even pausing Aerith asked, "And who else?"

"And…I want to protect…" I found it hard to say. So hard. Harder than anything I had ever needed to do in my life.

"Who, do you want to protect?"

"I want to protect Cloud." Aerith looked at me. Her expression was nearly unreadable. I couldn't understand. What did she want?

"Is that it?"

Taken aback I stuttered, "Yes…yes it is." Aerith shook her head and sighed. She raised a hand and pointed a finger at me.

"And what about the people you have never met before? What would you do if you saw someone trying to harm them? Would you protect them as well? Would you lay your life on the line for someone you know nothing about?" I lowered my head. "Look at me Sephiroth!" I stood up in confusion, avoiding her eyes but eventually coming to rest on them. "Look at me and listen well.

"You are right. You are not fit to be forgiven. You need to see that just protecting those you know is not enough. If you ever wish to be free of your sins, you need to understand that there will always be people who need to be protected. There are people out there who cause harm to others. Who do you protect? The one's who are innocent? Or the one's who are guilty?

"Sephiroth, you must protect them both. You must protect everyone. There is no one in this world that does not deserve to be protected. Those who are guilty need even more protection than the innocent. They need to be protected from themselves. No one was there to protect you when you needed it most. That is why you killed me in the end. Not because of some voice in your head whispering of power. I know what happened to you.

"You can not save everyone, Sephiroth. And no one would ever ask you to. Instead I ask you, can you try? Can you put yourself at risk for someone who has caused terrible harm to someone you love? What will you extend to that person? A hand or a fist? It is hard. It always will be, but if you can not do that, then you really do not deserve to be forgiven." She looked at me with steel in her eyes. "Can you do that, Sephiroth?"

I stood there for a long time, contemplating the incredible task she was setting before me. I knew what the right answer was. I knew what I should do. I knew that by now, I wasn't the person I used to be. I just didn't know if I could really do it. Could I really protect everyone? I had never been a selfish person. I had always lived my life for someone else. Mother. But could I do that for people I had never even met? Could I protect people who caused me harm?

No matter what…I had to try.

"Yes."

Aerith's face softened and she let loose a brilliant smile. "Then I can forgive you."

"Aerith!" Cid yelled, waving his spear about haphazardly, "Are you really just going to…just going to fucking…are you really…"

"You can't really forgive him can you?" interrupted Yuffie. "After he…ya know…"

"Killed you," finished Cid.

"WHAT?" screamed Leon. Aerith turned to them and smiled. She started to say something but I raised a hand to cut her off. I faced the three people in front of me and took a deep breath.

"Yuffie…Cid…I can't ask you to forgive me. I won't ask you to forgive me. I still don't see how Aerith can." I paused for a moment and took another deep breath, and then continued. "But…I will tell you this. I meant what I said. I do want to protect everyone. I have changed. I don't want the things I used to. Regardless of whether you believe me or not…I want to protect people now. And I want your help…because I can't possibly hope to do it alone. I don't ask you to forgive, or to befriend me…but…please…help me…and…" I took another deep breath. "Give me another chance."

Cid grunted noncommittally and shouldered his spear. He took a cigarette out of his pants pocket and patted his other one in search of matches. He let loose a low growl when he couldn't find any and gave me a small glance and whispered "fire" at the cigarette tip. A ball of flame burst out of his hand and ignited the cigarette, also causing a large scorch mark on the ground. He raised the cigarette to his lips and took a long draw from it. When he let his breath go, the smoke danced and swirled crazily into the sky. He sighed for a long time and shifted his weight to his other foot.

"I don't suppose you'd like one?" he inquired roughly.

"I don't smoke."

"Good! Cause this is my last one." And with that he strode past me and up the ramp into a small house at the top level of the district. I watched him go and then turned around to see the young ninja standing far to close to me. She stared up into face with a carefully set expression on her own. Yuffie raised one eyebrow and then stepped back, increasing the distance between us to about two feet. She tapped her foot in concentration and then stuck out her hand with vigor.

"Well if Cid let's you in, I might as well."

I looked down at her hand for a moment and then back to her face and said, "Thank you."

"NO NO NO!" The young ninja stamped her foot and grabbed my right hand. "When you let someone join your team you need to shake hands!" she viciously shook my hand up and down. "That's how it's always been done so don't try and cheat your way out of it just because you think being moody is cool!"

Alarmed at the new expression I stuttered slightly. "O-ok?"

"Good!" She let go of my hand and crossed her arms. "That's better!" And then she stalked off into the same building that Cid had. Aerith giggle lightly from behind me and I just shook my head. I turned back around to see Leon standing in front of me.

"Listen…I don't know what happened with all of you guys before you came here…but if they can forgive you then I guess I shouldn't have any bad opinions yet." He looked at me with interest in his eyes and said, "You're strong…I'm sure you'll make a great addition to the team."

"Thank you, Leon."

Leon started to walk past me towards the ramp when suddenly someone yelled, "THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, SQUAAAAAAAALL!" Leon stopped in his tracks and looked up guiltily at the District wall where Yuffie was leaning over in anger.

"My name is-"

"Your name is 'mud' until you shake his hand!" yelled the young ninja, shaking a fist with rage.

"But Cid didn't have to!" he yelled back. Aerith laughed loudly.

Yuffie stopped shaking her fist and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Omigod! You're right! I'll be right back!" She dashed out of view and then came back. "You two better shake hands!"

Leon looked at me and shrugged. "Better do what she says…I've seen Yuffie when she's mad…Cid's in for it for sure." He held out his hand and I reached out and grasped it. After a brief shake, we parted and Leon walked toward the ramp. After watching him disappear behind the wall, I looked to Aerith.

"I…I guess…thank you."

She let loose another brilliant smile and said cheerfully, "I'm just glad you came around finally."

"Yuffie! 'Ey! Leggo 'o me! YUFFIE!" sounds of struggling burst from the second floor of the District. "OW! OW! Yuffie lemme go! Oh! Shit Yuffie! That was my last cigarette!"

"I don't care! It's what you get for breaking the rules!"

"What rules! Yuffie? Not so close to the wall! What are you going to-"

"Heave…"

"YUFFIE!"

"HO!"

"AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHH!" a disheveled Cid flew over the wall of the District and came falling swiftly to earth where he hit with a resounding smash. "OOF!" Yuffie came next, flipping gracefully over him to land several feet away. Cid righted himself and groaned in pain.

"Oh come on you big baby. You'll get over it."

"Get over it? YUFFIE I COULDA DIED!"

"NOT BEFORE YOU SHAKE HANDS WITH HIM YOU DON'T!"

"I DON"T LIKE SHAKING HANDS!"

"BUT THAT'S THE RULE!"

Cid shook his head and crossed his arms. "You can't make me."

"Yes I can."

"I'd like to see you try." And as the word try left the pilot's lips, Yuffie leapt onto his back and wrestled him to the ground. She swiftly pinned one of his hands behind his back in such a way that all his other limbs were useless.

"I'd like to remind you that I _am_ a ninja."

Cid tried to speak through his mouthful of ground. "THO WHAT?"

"So I happen to know every pressure point on your body."

"I don't care!"

Yuffie paused and contemplated his last statement. She smiled devilishly and leaned in very close to the pilot's ear. "I also know…THAT YOU'RE TICKLISH UNDER THE ARMS!" She let go of Cid's arm and began to furiously tickle the man. Cid bucked and gyrated with heaves of laughter and finally managed to gasp out a sentence.

"Alright! I'll shake hands!"

Yuffie jumped up and smiled benignly at him. "Good! See to it then."

Grumbling, Cid stood up and gruffly thrust out a hand toward me. I smiled and took it firmly in mine. After barely a second he snatched it back and turned to the little ninja. "Is that good enough?"

"Hmmmmmmm……it'll do," Yuffie relented.

"Welcome to the team, Sephiroth," Aerith said. "Now come inside and let's discuss why you're here."

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Good lord…I was on the third page…the THIRD PAGE!...I'm such an attention whore.

Uhm…I'm not really sure whether or not I like this chapter…too much dialogue…seems almost like I'm stalling for something. I did realize that I really like writing for Yuffie. I like her character a lot.

Anyway…so…that's another chapter full of final fantasy peeps for ya. If any of you have played final mix (sadly I have not) and beaten Sephiroth…I think you get a keychain for it right? If someone could clear that up for me that would be great cause that's gonna be part of the next chapter.

Erm…I shold have at least another chapter done by the end of the month…probably two. Possibly more if I'm feeling motivated. Xsaturnine…thank you so much again for being a faithful reviewer. I'd like to see that from the rest of you who review. I WILL PRAISE YOU HERE IF YOU DO!

That about covers it…if you review…gimme your opinion on how I present the other Final fantasy characters…I need some feedback on that. Thanks a bunch…later!


	10. Wing of Chains

I AM RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS FOR SNAPPY DISCLAIMERS!...I…don't own anything! runs off and cries

WHY AREN"T YOU REVIEWING! I know for a fact that people out there enjoy my story…or at least read it. You have given me good reviews about previous chapters. I have read them. I have thanked you for them. How hard can it be to just write a couple more? I WRITE ROUGHLY 6 PAGES EVERY TWO DAYS FOR YOU PEOPLE AND YOU CAN'T EVEN MUSTER A REVIEW?

Sigh…I won't lie to you. I want 100 reviews on this thing. I am really enjoying writing it, but I want something out of it anyway. And right now…it seems like the only way to get 100 reviews is to write 81 more chapters for xsaturnine to review all by herself.

I'm sorry…I didn't mean to yell at you guys. I should be glad that people are reading this at all.

Please guys…review…I'm really putting a lot into this. I won't threaten with stopping the fic…but…I would really appreciate it.

ONTO THE FIC!

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 10

Wing of Chains

(parting ways)

The small house was silent. Cid held his hand against the table, closed tightly into a fist. It shook violently. Yuffie sat back in her own chair with a dropped jaw and wide eyes. Aerith looked contemplative. She brushed a strand of brown hair out of her face distractedly and furrowed her brow. Leon stood in the corner of the room looking confused and lost.

"So…the silver haired boy…Riku…Sora's friend…is…what again?" he asked in bewilderment.

Cid raised his fist and smashed it to the table again. "That deranged sunuvabitch made another one of you? God dammit."

Aerith raised an eyebrow and looked menacingly at Cid. "Cid! Try and be a bit more polite to present company."

"But…" Aerith narrowed her eyes. Cid sighed loudly and turned to me. "Awright…I'm sorry. It wasn't a jab at you or nothing…I just don't like the idea of toying with human life."

"It's perfectly understandable." I glowered slightly and said, "I'm not that keen on the idea either." Yuffie recovered from her stupefied position and shook here head. Almost like an Etch-a-Sketch, her dropped jaw was replaced by a bright and cheerful smile.

"So does that make Riku like your little brother?"

Leon snorted and said condescendingly, "Don't be ridiculous Yuffie."

"Squall! Don't be mea-"

"It's Leon."

The young ninja growled comically and bared her teeth. I interrupted their feud. "Please…that's enough. Yuffie…you're actually right. Sort of." I shook my head lightly to gather my thoughts and continued on. "Although it's not quite brotherly love that I feel. I feel more like a parent than anything else. I feel like it's my job to take care of him…because he did spring from my DNA."

The ninja let out a small "oh" of agreement. Aerith placed her hand on the table gently and said, "How do you plan to help him?"

I paused for a moment and then forged onwards, explaining the plan that had been unfolding in my mind since I had left Hollow Bastion. "I think that his friend Sora is the key."

"No pun intended," muttered Yuffie.

"I think that if Sora can somehow show Riku that his new powers aren't as useful as he believes them to be…can…defeat him in battle…then he might renounce them. If Sora can show Riku that he can help Kairi with a still pure heart…then Riku might just let go of the powers Maleficent has granted him."

"So you want to help Sora defeat Riku?" summarized Cid.

"Exactly. I want to lend Sora my strength so that he can stand up to Riku."

"And how do you expect to do that?"

"I…don't know," I said hesitantly. "I thought that if I came here…things might become clearer."

"I suppose that's a rational thought…although I can't help you with that," Aerith paused and addressed the rest of the people in the room. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

Yuffie jumped up and yelled, "There's a new tournament in the Coliseum! I was gonna join in! I figured that if they could beat me I would give Goofy an old shield of my father's…"

Leon leaned away from the wall he had been resting against and said, "Yea…I was going to join in that as well. If they beat me I was going to give them Sora a Keychain to help him."

"Keychain?" I asked.

"Yea…the Keyblade is a very versatile weapon. Its base form, the Kingdom Key, is the weakest it can be. There are ways to modify the blade though, with Keychains. I had the Moogles at the Synthesis Shop take some of my essence and make a Keychain for Sora. I'll give it to him if he can beat me."

"Keychains…" I muttered. Aerith looked at me with curiosity and then clapped her hands together.

"Excellent! That's perfect!" She stood up and leaned over the table in my direction. "You'll make a keychain for Sora!"

I turned the idea over in my head and finally nodded. It seemed to be the obvious choice. Aerith smiled and clapped her hands together again. Then she turned to Yuffie and Leon and spoke in a grave tone.

"Yuffie…I want to remind you of our deal."

"Yea I know…no contact with Cloud."

"And Leon…"

"No mentioning of the existence of you, Yuffie or Cid."

"Or me," I added. Leon turned to me and gave me a questioning glance. "I plan to meet with him soon enough. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

Aerith looked at me with an apologetic look in her eyes. She hesitated and then finally said, "You know he won't forgive you. Right?"

I nodded my head and said, "Yes. I would never expect him to either. But…I need to see him. I need to talk to him." Aerith crossed her arms and then nodded solemnly. She said nothing as she walked out of the door. Yuffie whistled and shivered.

"Is it cold in here or is that just me?" Leon let out a small sigh at her lame joke. "Aw come on Leon…it wasn't that bad!"

"Whatever," responded Leon without commitment. He swiveled to face me and said, "Here…I'll take you to the moogles. WE'll have them make you a keychain and then we'll meet up with Yuffie and Cid by the Town entrance."

Yuffie and Cid nodded and left the room with mumbles of "Don't keep us waiting," and "I'll see you soon then!" When they had left Leon stretched slightly and motioned me to follow him. We left the small house and entered the Third District. As we walked Leon commented on how it would take some time for Heartless to reappear here thanks to me.

"The Synthesis Shop is in the First District, right above the Accessory Shop that Cid used to take care of. We're going to head there. The moogles just opened shop there but they do magnificent work. Sora usually ends up there with a couple rare items that the moogles use to create some special accessory for him with."

I listened without much interest as Leon explained about accessories and the types that you could buy in the Accessory shop versus those that the moogles created. When we reached the large door to the First District, I steeled myself for the oncoming stares. Leon pushed open the doors and led me through. I heard a small gasp from my right as I stepped into the open courtyard. Turning my head I saw a woman holding her child close and watching me and Leon as we strode by.

The little girl struggled and broke loose of her mother's grasp. She scuttled forward and pulled roughly on my pant leg. I looked downwards and she started jumping up and down while holding the scabbard of the Masamune. "Are you Sephiwoff?" she asked.

I looked at Leon for assistance but he only grinned slightly and watched on with interest. I steadied myself and said, "Yes. I am Sephiroth."

The little smiled widely, portraying a lost tooth in the front of her mouth. "Yuffie tol' me that you can beat up the Heartwess. Can you weally?"

I felt a small drop of sweat cascade over my temple. "Erm…yea…I suppose I can."

"Are you better than Weon?"

I coughed and said politely, "I couldn't really say."

"Is he better n' you, Weon?" She asked Leon.

Leon bent down to the little girl and ruffled her hair. "Do you remember what I told you about those nasty Wyverns?"

"You can beat up almost three at a time!"

"Yep!" He pointed to me and leaned in close to the little girl. He whispered into her ear, "But this guy here can beat up a whole five!" The little girl gasped dramatically and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Can he weally?"

"You betcha."

"Woooooooow!" The small child turned to me and yelled, "Mista Sephiwoff, you're my favowite Heartwess beater-upper!" She turned to Leon and quickly added, "Sowwy Weon…you've been demoted."

Leon snapped his fingers and said, "Aw man…that's too bad. Ok Caitlin! The Heartless Beat Em' Up Squad has work to do so how about you go back to your mommy ok?"

"Ok!" Caitlin threw a comical salute that Leon returned and then looked expectantly at me. "It's your turn now!" I faltered and then finally gave a weak salute in return that the girl seemed to accept. She pranced over to her mother and began relaying terribly embellished tales of Leon and me to her mother.

"Let's get going," said Leon. I heartily agreed and we made our way to the accessory shop. Once inside we were accosted briefly by the man at the counter about buying various accessories until Leon told him to please be quiet. He pointed at a ladder overhead and said, "The Synthesis shop is up there." He walked up to the ladder and climbed up into the second floor. I took a brief look at the ladder and then jumped upwards, landing gracefully on the second floor.

"KUPO!" A loud and cuddly noise emitted from near the fireplace. I looked towards it and saw a small creature with bat wings and an antenna with a large red ball on top. Raising an eyebrow I walked forward and leaned against a low table. The excited moogle jumped up and down and said, "Kupo! What can I do for you today, sir?"

"He wants to make a Keychain for Sora," said Leon.

"Kupo. It won't be cheap. Even if it is for my best client. Kupo."

"Munny is no object."

The moogle smiled widely and then turned to me. "Alright then, kupo! If Leon is willing to take care of the expenses, all you need to do is give me something of value to you, kupo. Something small is preferable."

"I used my ring," said Leon.

I rolled the idea over in my head. I didn't carry anything personal with me, save Masamune, which I could not part with. My clothes were given to me by Hades so they wouldn't mean anything to me. I brushed my hair behind my ear and flexed my wing.

"Oh."

I unsheathed Masamune, alarming those in the room, and cut off a large lock of my silver hair. After sheathing the Masamue, I reached behind me and took hold of a large feather. I pulled hard and fast and it came away in my hand. "Will this do?" I asked.

"It's perfect, kupo!" shouted the excitable moogle. It waddled toward me and took the ingredients from my palm. After walking to the furnace, he threw both my hair and my feather into the fire. The moogle then paused for a moment and turned to Leon. "You said munny is _no_ object? Kupo?"

"Right. Just make it as strong as you can."

"Right then! Kupo!" It waddled over to a small microphone in the corner of the room and shouted into it, "KUPO! I NEED 10 POWER CRYSTALS, KUPO! 3 GALE, 8 SPIRIT GEM, 2 SHINY CRYSTAL, 5 ORICHALCUM, 22 MYTHRIL!" Leon winced at the mention of Mythril, but the moogle went on screaming into the microphone. "12 BRIGHT CRYSTAL, AND 5 MYSTERY GOO! KUPO!"

A high pitched and obscured voice emanated from the microphone the moogle nodded and yelled an agreement. It turned back to us and smiled benignly at Leon. "It will take me a while to calculate the price for this, kupo. We'll discuss it later." With his last sentence, the door burst open and perhaps ten moogles with large buckets full to the brim with strange crystals and rocks filed into the room. They all ran over to the furnace and dumped their buckets inside it.

When the last moogle emptied its bucket into the furnace, they all ran t the back corner of the room. The moogle who had been dealing with us earlier put on a pair of large protective goggles and motioned for us to stand back. He closed the furnace doors and jumped up to grab a large red lever. Using his own weight he thrust the lever downwards and frantically scrabbled behind the nearest table.

The furnace erupted into gigantic multicolored flames. The thing bucked and slammed back and forth. Pipes rattled and large tongues of fire flicked out of the mouth of the furnace. After a few seconds of pounding back and forth, it strained upwards and let out a very human-like cough. A puff of dark green smoke drifted upwards and the whole thing settled back into place.

The head moogle dashed forward, opened the gate, slid a pair of pliers inside, pulled something out and slammed the gate shut. Using the pliers he thrust the object forth onto the table in triumph. "KUPO!"

On the table, a black chain wound around in a wild circle. The links eventually ended on a small object in the shape of a black wing. Leon let loose a small whistle and said to me, "Now you have to name it."

It did not take long to formulate a name.

"One Winged Angel."

After some brief dealings with the moogles, Leon and I left the building through the second floor entrance. I tossed the Keychain up into the air and caught it. Leon smiled and said, "It looks like it turned out well." He then hung his head and added, "It's gonna cost us a fortune…22 mythrils…" I was about to apologize but he waved his hand in a dismissive way and said, "But it's definitely worth it. When Sora gets that…he'll definitely have a good chance at defeating Riku."

I glanced down at the keychain in my hand. I could feel power emanating from it. It felt warm, somehow. After several moments I closed my fist around it and put it into my pocket. When Leon and I reached the exit of the world, Leon stepped forward and pushed it open. Outside were two large Gummi ships, mine and what I assumed to be Cid's. I looked towards Cid's ship and saw Yuffie running towards us with a prancing gait.

"OH WEEEEEEEOOOOON!" She screeched.

"Oh dear…" muttered Leon.

The ninja stopped a few inches from Leon and beamed up at him. "I saw you with Caitlin! You were so cute!"

"Eh heh…yea…" he said, rubbing his head.

"I never thought the morbid and morose Leon would ever be so cute with anyone! Omigod!"

Leon smiled a bit and said, "Well I used to know this guy who had a niece. Laguna was really cute with her and Ellone always…" his voice trailed off when he realized what he was saying. Yuffie stopped smiling as well and instead rocked back and forth, trying to find a comfortable position to stand in. Leon's face hardened and with a steely voice he said, "I'll see you at the Coliseum, Sephiroth. Let's go Yuffie. We don't have time to waste."

"Leon…" Yuffie began. She looked as if she wanted to say more but decided better of it. Akwardly she turned to me and gave me a weak and forced smile. "I'm sorry…I guess I'll see you at the Coliseum." I nodded and she ran off to the Gummi ship that awaited her. Leon and Yuffie got in and the ship took off quickly.

"He gets like that sometimes," said a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Aerith standing there with a look of sadness on her face. "When we met him, he would barely say a word to any of us. He would just…stare off into the distance, trying to focus on something that he knew wasn't there. And then he would go off to train." She took a few steps toward the edge of the platform. "He's improved a lot though. Yuffie is a good influence on him. But every so often, he'll forget about the past and start talking about it with fondness. And after he does that he'll pause and something inside him will click, and then he'll be just as cold as he was in the beginning." She turned to me. "It's sad…isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Cloud's like that, isn't he?"

"A little bit."

"Was he ok?"

I paused for a moment, recalling Cloud's deal with Hades and his battle with Sora. "Yes. He's doing just fine."

"Is he…" Aerith paused to wipe something from her face. "Was he looking for us?"

"He is looking for something."

"Ah."

And that was the end. All that needed to be said, had been. We looked at each other for a long time. I wanted to ask her why she wouldn't go to him, why she kept herself from someone she cared about so deeply. I wanted to yell at her, to shake her and throw her to the ground and just scream at her that I could take her to him. Wouldn't that be better? Wouldn't that make sense?

But I didn't. I turned my back and walked to the end of the platform. I closed my eyes and emptied my mind. As the world around me was replaced by the Nexus, I repeated over and over in my mind, "I'll bring him back to you. As soon as I can do so, I will bring him back to you."

I promise.

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I like the ending to this chapter a lot. I feel like I'm slowing down, like I'm losing my momentum for this story. The past two chapters feel like I've been stalling. I mean…there are key elements in each chapter that are vitally important to the story…but surely I could have gotten to them both in one chapter right? Maybe not.

I really like the idea of Sephiroth meeting a small child. That appeals to me. Sephiroth as a hero appeals to me greatly.

So I did my research and there is a One Winged Angel Keychain in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. That's pretty sweet. I wish I had gotten that game. I wish I could have gotten that game. But…whatever, right?

Ooh! You know what else I like? How I characterized Squall here. I feel like he hasn't been getting any attention. So I gave him some panel time.

I'm struggling with where I want to go next. I want to get to the Showdown of Fate, as I'm sure all you guys do, but I kinda wanted to go back to Hollow Bastion before that. Get Riku back in the picture right? Kinda…advance that aspect of the plot a bit more. I want your opinions on that, guys. I kinda think I have my mind made up but if there's like 5 people who say otherwise then I'd try and go with that. Either way, the battle with Sora is going to be in the next three chapters so get excited.

I'm sorry for yelling at you guys about reviews. But I still wish you would give me some.


	11. Powers You

Holy shit! Omigod…dudes…I just put the entirety of chapters 1-10 together on word…its 50 freaking pages! That is so long! Wow…holy crap. That really puts things in perspective…in any case…I don't hold it against anybody for not reading this whole thing. It is LONG! Wow…

Erm…furiously calculates how to make a clever disclaimer

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Disney and Square Enix.

Disney and Square Enix who?

Disney and Square Enix are not going to sue your sorry ass because you don't own jack.

…

Oh…hey guys. You wanna come in for drinks?

No we're good.

TALLY HO! ONTO THE FIC!

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 11

Powers > You

(want to much and gain nothing)

The Nexus felt colder. I let myself drift for a time. I didn't think or try to aim myself in any particular direction, simply because I wanted to see where I went. For a long time I drifted aimlessly through darkness. Contours rose upwards and then fell back into nothingness. The blackness seemed to flow like some sort of canvas of nothingness. It dashed back and forth while staying in the same place. It was mind-blowing.

But it felt colder. I could not remember ever feeling any sort of temperature in the Nexus before. It was a strange sensation. As I floated, I felt the temperature begin to drop further and further so I tried to travel in the direction that would lead me to what I assumed to be the source. Upon nearing the source I began to hear heavy breathing.

The labored breath came in short bursts, gasping and heaving. The breather sounded as if they were in motion, running and jumping all around. I quickened my pace, hurrying ever nearer to the sound. As the breathing became deafening, it began to mix with small giggles and other more abrasive laughter.

A glint of silver could be seen in the distance. My insides turned to stone. I felt like vomiting. Finally I began to run. As quickly as I could I ran and ran towards the individual. The boy danced and cut with a short sword into masses of giggling Heartless. Over his shoulder he held onto a little girl. He would clear a way for himself and then take off; ignoring the ones he left behind. He bled from several light wounds as well as from a deep gash in his left flank.

A larger Heartless rose upwards to its full height, which was nearly as tall as myself and motioned for the others to stand back. It began shuffling forward after the escaping boy. With a burst of energy I dashed towards it. The Neo Heartless jumped from its place on the ground and raised a clawed hand to strike the fleeing child. I tore through the group of smaller Heartless from behind and drew Masamune.

There was a flash of silver metal and the Neo Heartless burst into dark smoke that washed over Riku's retreating form. The giggling stopped immediately. Riku did not turn or pause but instead limped quickly onwards. A limp Kairi slowed him down as she bounced up and down from her perch on his shoulder.

I looked at him for a moment and then whispered, "Cure 3." To my surprise, this had no effect. I frowned and said, "Cure 2." When this did nothing I sighed and said, more in exasperation than anything else, "Cure." Green leaves formed over Riku's head and his limp disappeared. As his strides became more regular he glanced over his shoulder. I quickly turned my body away from him and faced the crowd of Heartless in front of me.

"I won't let you hurt anyone, any more," I growled softly. I sounded like Leon. With a final look over my shoulder to make sure that Riku was indeed retreating, I returned my entire attention to the Heartless. They shivered and danced in front of me. There weren't all that many. The boy must have taken care of a lot of them before I had arrived. A Neo Heartless stepped forward and then made an attempt to dart around me. I spun swiftly and grabbed it by an antenna. Its momentum caused it to lose footing and it fell to the ground. I raised Masamune and stabbed quickly through the forehead of the beast. Upon removing my blade, the Heartless burst into smoke.

The other Heartless bobbed and weaved silently now, watching with caution. I took a slow step forward and then dashed into the most concentrated group of them. I raised my hand and summoned fire from the ground beneath me. Three enormous pillars of flame erupted all around me and the Heartless were eradicated. Those that had not been caught in the blast made a mad dash in the direction that Riku had run in.

With Masamune flashing in front of me, I cleaved quickly through the straggling shadows. When the entire area was clear I followed Riku's trail. After a long time, the trail came to an end. I knew that this was the exit to Hollow Bastion. I paused for a moment and then let myself fade back into existence. I landed at the doorway to the chapel. Eagerly I pressed my ear to the wall and heard long gasps from the room inside.

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel," said Maleficent. "Remember, relying too heavily on your dark powers can cost you your heart."

"That cold hearted witch," I whispered under my breath. "Now is a fine time to tell him this.

Suddenly an enormous roar shattered the air. It bounced and echoed through the hallways and left my ears ringing. I heard Riku shuffle to his feet, still panting. Maleficent's cloak brushed gently against the floor.

"A castaway," she said with contempt. Though his world perished, his heart did not. When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you." I could almost hear the disgusting smile form on Maleficent's lips. I heard her hands lightly caress Riku and she whispered, "He is no match for your power."

Once again my insides hardened into stone and I fell back against the wall. It was hard to breath. With the majority of my senses in disarray, I hurled myself at the large chapel doorway. It would not budge. Not only that, but it made no sound. I pounded the doorway and screamed to Riku that he should not listen. I drew Masamune and hacked at the doorway only to be thrown back by some invincible force. I clasped at my head and stood up shakily.

"My power?"

Dammit. I hurled myself against the door again, only to be thrust back into the wall again. As I connected I felt blood enter my throat and spew forth onto the stone floor. I beat the ground with my fist and stood up again. I steadied myself against the wall and rushed the doorway again.

"Yes, the untapped power that lies within you." Once again, the sound of my assault was unheard and I felt my self crash to the floor. My head pounded but I once again stood up. "Now, child, it's time you awakened that power and realized your full potential."

The scream from inside the chapel mixed with my own as I rushed the great wooden doorway again. This time I was not repelled but instead crumpled against the doorway with my hand raised against the wood. As I lay there, blood trickling slowly from my mouth, I began to cry again.

"No need for that," came a voice to my left. I looked upwards and saw through tears a man in a long black robe with bright silver hair. He looked downwards at me and gave a slight sniff of disgust. "Curaga." A bright light formed above me and the blood flow came to a cease. I stood up shakily and eyed the man with suspicion. He had a very calculating look on his face.

"You're dressed like Axel."

"Ah…then you did meet him." I nodded and the man smiled slightly. "My name is Zexion. I came here to let you know a little something." He leaned in closer to my face and said with disgusting amounts of superiority, "You will not stop the boy from reaching his…'full potential.' We will not allow it."

I scowled and punched the great wooden doors. I felt a charge run through my fist and I withdrew it quickly. "Then this is your doing?"

"Yes, among other things." He smiled benignly and crossed his arms. "Of course, once this little ordeal is through, feel free to do whatever you wish with the boy." Zexion made a small bow and took several steps away from me. I felt my blood rising. My left hand clenched on thin air and my right hand upon the Masamune's hilt. In a second, Zexion's decapitated head flew across the hall and landed with a squishing noise against the opposite wall.

Breathing heavily I sheathed Masamune and tried desperately to calm myself. Zexion's body hit the floor and twitched violently for several seconds until it finally lay still. Blood poured from the open neck of the man and pooled around his body. I let loose a final sigh of my passing rage and turned around.

"Sephiroth…how..." Aerith stood by the door with her hands covering her mouth in horror. Tears formed in her eyes and she looked about to collapse.

"Aerith?" I asked dumbly.

"Sephiroth…how could you do this?" She pointed in terror at the lifeless body of Zexion.

I felt the force of her sadness hit me like a punch to my gut. I opened and closed my mouth in shame and confusion. "He…he was trying to hurt Riku!"

"Sephiroth…didn't I tell you?" Aerith fell to her knees and let loose sobs of anguish. "I told you that even those who hurt people dear to you need to be protected."

"Aerith…I-"

"Was it all just some kind of joke to you?" She now stood, pointing a finger accusingly at me. "Are you toying with us again Sephiroth?"

I let my knees give way under her terrible charges. "No! I never meant…"

"Are we just to be your ridiculous puppets again, Sephiroth? Do you mean to keep toying with all of our emotions! Sephiroth I trusted you to protect people! I gave you another chance and you turned right around and went back to the person you always were!"

"Aerith…please…"

"No! You will get no more pity from me! You are worthless! You never did deserve to be forgiven you heartless bastard!"

"Please…I didn't mean to…" I looked up into her deep grey eyes. Searching for some sort of pity or forgiveness. I found nothing in her steely gaze.

But…Aerith did not have grey eyes in Traverse Town…

I rolled to the side just in time to avoid an enormous tomahawk come crashing into the floor where I had been kneeling. I steadied myself against the doorway and dried my eyes. A large muscular man wearing the same robe as Axel and Zexion stood and brandished his weapon at me. He had short and spiky brown hair. He frowned widely and turned to Aerith.

"Dammit Zexion I thought you said you would get his guard down!"

Aerith frowned and turned to the large man. "Lexaeus…it seems that is not the case. It would be better to abort this mission."

"Are you certain?"

Aerith suddenly blinked out of existence and in her place stood Zexion. "Without a doubt."

I stood up shakily and unsheathed Masamune. "Just what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

"Leaving."

"Not if I have anything to do with it!" I charged at the two men and cut out with Masamune. As the blade neared Zexion's head, he blinked out of the world along with Lexaeus. The two of them had retreated into the Nexus. I glanced around the hallway and muttered, "Dammit." Finally I sheathed Masamune. Zexion's other body was gone and there was no trace of blood. Nothing showed that he had existed at all. "Stupid illusions…"

I heard the large oak doors begin to open. In alarm I focused on the library of Hollow Bastion and teleported just as Riku strode out of the doorway. In the library, things were quiet. I waited there for several minutes and then decided to pay Maleficent a little visit.

As soon as I materialized inside the chapel I dashed toward Maleficent and grabbed her by the neck. I thrust her against the wall and tore here scepter out of her hands. It clattered to the ground. I stared fiercely into her eyes and waited for the fear of her situation to sink in. She sputtered slightly and then grimaced.

"So…you heard what I did to Riku then?"

"Yes," I spat.

"And you are displeased?"

"What exactly did you do, witch?"

Maleficent began to laugh loudly. Her laughter rose and filled the Chapel. Her cackling grew so intense that I finally dropped her to the floor. She looked wildly at me and smiled an insane smile. "Why I only did what I said I would! I unlocked his hidden potential! Is that such a crime?" I raised my hand and brought it sharply across the woman's face. The blow sent her sprawling across the floor. When she came to a stop she drew herself to her feet.

"I'm sorry...are you still pretending to be his angel?" I began to close the distance between the two of us. "Isn't it difficult to be an angel with only one wing?" I thrust my fist into her gut, driving the wind from her. She crumpled to the ground. After gasping for several seconds she continued to speak. "It is far too late. You are far too late! The boy has grown accustomed to his power! He will never let it go!" My fist connected with her jaw and she flew across the room. When she reached the opposite wall, she came to a stop with a crash. She was breathing lightly now, unconscious.

"Dammit…I am going to save him…I am going to do everything I can."

"You have come this far, and still you understand so little?" A familiar bass voice resonated through the chapel. I whirled around and saw a man in a long brown cloak standing in the doorway.

"You…"

"Sephiroth…I must say I would have expected more." The hooded man made a wide gesture with his arms. "Never would I have dreamed you to become so weak and dependant on fools."

"Ansem..."

"I see you remember me. I also see that you have your wing now." Ansem floated toward me. "How does it feel?" I eyed the shadowed hood and began to grow suspicious. "Come now, you can tell me."

"Ansem…what are you doing here?"

"Ahaha…questions again is it? I am glad you remember the lessons I taught you."

"I said, _what are you doing here_?"

Ansem let loose a deep rumbling laugh that filled the chapel. I crossed the floor at kicked into Ansem's gut. The cloak caved in around me and the whole thing crumpled to the floor. Confused, my eyes darted around the room. Ansem was not in the cloak, nor was he anywhere in the chapel.

"Oh my. Such a violent person aren't you?" Ansem's disembodied voice floated through the air. "I suppose you wouldn't know this, only having met me in the Nexus. Sephiroth…I gave up my mortal body a long time ago."

I picked up the cloak at my feet. "I suppose that does explain this."

"Very perceptive. I gave up my body, my humanity in order to reach a state of being far beyond that of mere mortals. Much like yourself I seek ultimate power. I want to be immortal! I seek to use Kingdom Hearts to flood myself with the power of Darkness! Only then will I ever be immortal. I cast off my mortal shell to gain what I have now." Loud laughter shook the chapel walls. "But it wasn't enough. It still isn't enough. I need another body. I need to find my way back into the corporeal world again. Sephiroth, there are forces at work here far beyond anything you have ever experienced. And that is saying a lot."

"What are you doing _here_?" I repeated with more clarity.

"Here? Why here? Why now? Well, Sephiroth, why not? I have my reasons and there is nothing you can do to stop me, because I am not really here to begin with."

"What are you talking about?"

"That boy, Riku? He's quite an interesting case. He is using the powers of Darkness for someone other than himself. This is almost unheard of. Unfortunately, it will only result in his own destruction. I am sure you are aware of this?" I gritted my teeth in anger and glanced toward the sleeping Maleficent.

"I am aware, yes."

"Well why let his body go to waste?"

"What?"

"In a matter of time Riku will steal the Keyblade from Sora and then lose it. The loss will be too much for him and he will come running, full of self doubt and self loathing, searching even more adamantly for power. That is when I will come to him with exactly what he wants and how to get it. He will give in to my demands instantly and he will be open to my influence."

"You…"

"And I will see to it that you can do absolutely nothing about it."

"Ansem…"

"You can try to protect everyone, but in the end, you'll only lose those you care about the most."

I felt something inside me vanish. I clutched at my chest and whispered, "No…" I felt my eyes start to fill with tears again. I kicked viciously at the green table and it shattered and crashed into pieces against the far wall. I screamed until my throat was sore and finally I heard Ansem's voice return.

"Ah yes…I should probably send you somewhere to occupy yourself for a while."

"I am going to kill you, you cliché bastard!"

"I'd like to see you try. In the meantime, I will see you later."

Without warning I felt Hollow Bastion disappear around me and I was in the Nexus again. My body was moving through the Nexus without my own willing and I cried out. Several Heartless materialized and disappeared into the darkness that surrounded me, I was moving impossibly fast.

"I told you, I am already one with the Darkness. I can send you anywhere I want and for right now…I choose Agrabah."

Once again my settings changed and I was falling. Below me were miles of sand. After perhaps twenty feet I flipped myself around and landed nimbly on my feet. I stood up and closed my eyes, willing myself to enter the Nexus but it would not allow me inside.

Suddenly three enormous things burst out of the sand. All three of the sand creatures whirled around so quickly that I could not see what any of them really were. One by one they hit the ground and I finally saw what they truly are. Each of them had large cobra-like heads and six arms. Two arms each held gigantic sickles. They bobbed and weaved. Six enormous white and yellow robots. Upon examining them more closely, I discovered the same mark I had seen on many of the Heartless. These things were Heartless.

Ansem's voice emanated through the open desert air. "These are your distractions, Kurt Zisa. The only way to escape this planet is through the nexus and the only way to reenter it is to defeat at least two of them."

"Is this some kind of game to you?"

"I suppose it could be."

With that, balls of fire formed all around me and one of the robots leapt into the air and began to spin. It shot toward me with its blades extended. I drew Masamune and prepared for the inevitable battle to come.

There are indeed powers at work that are greater than I.

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Ugh…I don't really like this chapter so much…I think it started out good but I was sort of floundering by the end. Which is a shame. Also…I think I lied before…at this rate the battle with Sora won't be in the next few chapters at all. Sorry.

Ok…I'm very sorry at yelling at everyone for reviews…I didn't mean to be so angsty. I realize now that just because I check every day doesn't mean that other people do. It's only been a month and I shouldn't expect so much. So I apologate. (three points to anyone who can tell me where "apologate" came from.)

Appreciations! Ok…kmsaum my super best friend! Thank you for the reviews! I'm proud that you think my fid to be above suggestions but I would still like them, even if I end up not using them.

Prinsessa Garnet! Thank you very much for your review! I am glad that you think I write my characters well. I try very hard to be as in character as I can be. Of course…that goes against Sephiroth here but one can't write an interesting story about someone if they never change at all. I was glad to receive your e-mail as well I really like the idea of Riku and Sephiroth fighting together. I hope one day that the plot allows that to happen. And I promise you that I will finish this fic. No matter what.

Xsaturnine! Once again you have the first review of the latest chapter. I really appreciate your constant reviews and can only hope to repay you with constant chapters.

…

Me: xsaturnine? pokes with stick Hello? rolls over to reveal enormous stab wound OH NOES! gives phoenix down and then walks away with a sense of accomplishment

Sephiroth: Erm…that won't help. points to Masamune

Me: What? looks at the still deceased xsaturnine SEPHIROTH!

Sephiroth: Sorry…

Me: grabs xsaturnine's corpse and holds it in front of Sephiroth Kiss it and make it better!

Sephiroth: What?

Me: Do it or I'll kill you in the next chapter. Sephiroth grumbles and kisses xsaturnine

I'll leave the rest up to xsaturnine…are my author's note things to long? I think so.


	12. Rough Ride on Our Side

This is a pretty good chapter I think. Lots of action and plot progression. I think it's one of the best so far, but I'm biased.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned below. So don't sue me or I might cry.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 12

Rough Ride on Our Side

(how strong is your heart?)

The approaching Kurt Zisa spun parallel to the ground at an alarming rate. Its two swords were held out to each side and as it flew it raised clouds of sand. I felt the wind before it was even thirty feet away. I quickly drew Masamune and prepared to block the attack. One of the enormous blades connected, followed quickly by the second. The impact made my bones shudder. For a split second, we were locked in a battle of strength. The robot's head swiveled to give me a confused look.

And then the momentum of the beast caused me to lift off my feet and careen off to my left. I spun wildly through the air, barely feet from the ground. Using my arms and wing, I steadied myself and finally stopped spinning. My muscles felt sore from the sudden jarring the blow had given me. I had hit several of the floating fireballs in my flight but hadn't felt any of them due to my speed.

My feet hit the ground and I skidded to a stop. Scanning the area in front of me, I saw one Kurt Zisa still concentrating on maintaining the fireballs scattered about while one, presumably the one that had attacked me before, jumped into the air and flew once again towards me. I had a brief epiphany. The sand I was standing upon was darker than the sand twenty feet ahead. I glanced upwards.

A Kurt Zisa brought its blades down with incredible force. I raised Masamune just in time to block the attack. The force behind the strike drove me downwards into the sand until I was up to my waist in it. The Kurt Zisa landed heavily above me and leaped away. Confused I looked around and saw that the Kurt Zisa who had been charging toward me was still doing so.

Unable to move I braced myself for the attack. The approaching Kurt Zisa was kicking up enormous sprays of sand as it spun perpendicular to the sand directly at my head. Raising Masamune once again I steeled myself for the blow. Steel rang on steel and though my arms did not buckle, I was driven even further into the shifting sands. The grains filled my eyes and mouth, halting my breath and blinding me.

I felt heat approaching me from behind. I struggled against the confining mountain of sand that was closing over me. The more I moved, the more sand fell onto my face. Finally I gave up and tried my best to concentrate. I felt myself teleport and I quickly cleared my eyes of the irritating sand. The sight that greeted me was not a pleasant one.

Nearly twenty feet in the air I began to fall slowly. A robot was already hurling towards me with unbelievable speed and another one followed it closely from behind. Being in the air, my maneuverability was severely compromised. Half-baked plans came and went through my mind like hummingbirds. Nothing stuck and nothing would work. The approaching nearest Zisa was only ten feet away. It would be upon me in less than a second. I raised Masamune in a futile gesture and prepared myself for the worst.

There was a flash of white black and gold and small figure floated where the Zisa had been only moments ago. The aforementioned Heartless was careening swiftly off to the right in a chaotic display of flailing arms and blades. The tiny figure paused in mid-air as the other flying Zisa drew nearer. With inhuman agility, the being brought one foot down upon a whirling blade, deflecting it downwards, and then the other foot came smashing downwards on the large cobra head.

The Kurt Zisa hurled downwards and smashed headlong into the ground below. It writhed there for a moment and then righted itself. The figure in black and I were approaching the ground and the tiny creature shifted and suddenly a golden blur formed and cut through the Zisa on the ground. We both landed and I hesitated. The small person paused and then the robot erupted into black smoke that faded then into nothingness.

Although my jaw did not drop, my mouth did open several millimeters in amazement. The diminutive being turned around and faced me. He wore the same clothes as Axel, Zexion and Lexaeus. In his right hand he held what appeared to be a golden Keyblade. It had very large ears.

"Hiya!"

My mouth opened several more millimeters. The creature threw back its hood to reveal the head of a very comical looking mouse. It had on a large smile and big bright eyes. Very much in contrast with something that had just destroyed one of the Kurt Zisa. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. The mouse creature began to walk towards me.

"The name's King Mickey! It's very nice to meetcha. I believe that you are Sephiroth?" It came to a stop about two feet in front of me and stuck out a tiny hand.

Shocked, I nodded dumbly and began to extend my own hand. Before we touched I came to my senses and snatched it back.

"Wait…why are you wearing that? Are you connected with those other people? Axel and Zexion?"

"Oh dear…you met them did you?" The mouse retracted his own hand and shook his head. "I can assure you that I mean you no harm. My connection to them is my own business but I do not side with them by any means."

There was something pure in the way the 'king' spoke. I nodded grudgingly and relaxed a bit. "Why are you here then?"

"Well I came to help you out."

"Why?"

Mickey paused for a moment and then raised an eyebrow. "Erm…because…three against one are unfair odds?"

It was very strange about getting such an honest answer. Something seemed out of place to get such a simple answer. Perhaps it was the use of numbers. The firmness of numbers and they're meanings just struck something inside me. My tongue fumbled briefly and I muttered out something along the lines of "Oh…well…yes."

"Excellent!" The mouse smiled brightly at me and then resumed a fighting stance. "I believe we still have a couple left right?" I nodded and readied myself.

The two remaining Kurt Zisa came barreling over a dune. Blades flashed in the dessert sand as they flew towards us. As I stood there I realized that my mind had been severely clouded in my earlier bout with them. I looked down at Mickey and it struck me that he had a calming aura about him. Something said that everything would turn out well enough in the end.

"I'll take the left one then?" queried Mickey.

"If you wish," I replied.

When the robots were only ten feet away, we both rolled out of the way. Both Heartless blew past, spraying sand in their wake. I watched closely as the head of my Kurt Zisa rotated quickly downwards. I flicked Masamune out with ease and felt it cut into something thin and metallic. The giant spinning robot hurtled onward but faltered after thirty feet. Its blades slipped from its hands and flew crazily in different directions. Six arms spewed outwards and hit the sand hard. The cobra head soared upwards, writhing and spitting. As it reached its arc it grew still. Finally it landed with a clank and burst into smoke, along with its body. I smiled slightly and then scanned the dunes to see how Mickey was faring.

"Watch out!"

A large foot came looming over my head. I rolled quickly to the side as it smashed into the sand where I had been standing. Above me, Mickey was holding onto the neck of the remaining Kurt Zisa and riding it like he was at some kind of crazy rodeo. The Heartless shook side to side and smashed its arms to the ground in hopes to dislodge the mouse. Somehow I noticed that Mickey no longer held his Keyblade.

I ran forward and leaped towards the torso of the Heartless. In a flash there was one of the six arms blocking my way. I used my wing to propel myself over the flashing blade and then cut out with Masamune, severing the flailing arm. It fell off to the ground, still holding the massive crescent sword.

I felt another arm connect with my back and send me falling quickly toward the sand. Masamune flew from my grip and landed far away. I righted myself quickly and landed softly on my feet. I looked up and then leapt backwards in a somersault to avoid the approaching foot. I landed near the severed arm.

"Help me!" cried Mickey.

My mind was racing. I grabbed the arm and threw it to the side. I quickly grabbed the enormous crescent blade and picked it up from the ground. It took both hands to get a solid purchase on the handle and I even stumbled slightly under the weight of it. Adjusting myself, I planted my feet and leapt towards Kurt Zisa. I jumped so that I turned slowly in my approach. When I was close enough, I used my wing to propel myself into a faster spin and brought the crescent blade across the abdomen of the Heartless.

The creature was shopped in half at the middle. It stopped moving as it slid apart and fell into the sand. Mickey made a small jump and landed effortlessly in front of me. The parts of the final Kurt Zisa burst into smoke and vanished. I wiped sweat and sand from my face and then turned to look at King Mickey.

"Thank you for your help."

The king looked up at me and smiled again. "No problem!"

"So…" I hesitated again. "Why did you really help me? It wasn't just to help even the odds was it?"

Mickey laughed a merry little laugh and then held out his hand. His Keyblade materialized in his palm and he twirled it around a little bit. "Why are you suspicious of people who help you? There's no real need for it. I helped you beat those Heartless. Isn't that what really matters?"

"I suppose…but is it so wrong to wonder why?"

"Of course not." Mickey sighed and sat down. "Ok…so listen closely. I can't say all that much in my current condition. There are people who want you dead. There are people who want you out of the way. There are people that need you alive and well. I'm part of the latter." He began to draw absently in the sand with his Keyblade. "For whatever reason you chose, you came over to the side of good. As a result, your destiny got all switched around. Fate had to resort to a little 'Plan B' of sorts. Don't ask me how I know all this. I can't tell you. In the end it comes down to a bunch of higher powers arguing over which of the several destinies you should eventually lead into."

I scowled slightly and said angrily, "Does that mean I have no choice in the matter?"

"That's not the case at all. There aren't really higher powers guiding you to some ultimate fate, just you carving your own path and other people recording it. Those recorders of fate happen to have laid out a path for you already, sort of a path of least resistance. If you follow that, you really have no choice in the matter. But you decided not to do that at all. As a result, you have the higher powers in an uproar."

"How will that affect me?"

"Surprisingly, not all that much. There are a lot more important things going down that they need to keep track of. You feed into these things, but you are not by any means the main character in this chapter of history." He erased his picture in the sand and then smiled at me. "Sort of a bummer, eh?"

Taken aback at the anticlimactic ending to his speech, I just nodded slightly. Mickey widened his smile and gave a little bow to me.

"Sorry to be thrusting this all upon you but I thought you deserved to know."

"Yes…I suppose. Thank you."

"So I guess you should be getting back to Hollow Bastion to help Riku and Sora right?"

I blanched. The intensity of the fight and the strangeness of meeting King Mickey had made me forget my purpose entirely. My tongue tangled on itself and I sputtered some inane phrase out. Mickey let out a small laugh.

"Calm down for a minute, ok? Look, don't go through the Nexus right now, take my Gummi ship. It's got warping capabilities so it should take you about the same amount of time." I nodded frantically and Mickey snapped his fingers together. A large golden Gummi ship fell from the sky and landed with a crash into the sand. Mickey smiled again and said, "The configuration is all set up, just press the red button once you get inside."

I gave a hasty thank you and dashed toward the ship as fast as I could. As I reached the ramp leading inside I heard Mickey shout something from behind me.

"Hey Sephiroth!" I turned around in the doorway. "There are powers at work greater than you," Mickey snapped his fingers and the door began to close slowly. Before the mouse's head disappeared from view he shouted one last thing. "But try and remember that at least a few are on your side."

The door shut and I rushed over to the control panel. In the center was a large red button. I paused to catch my breath and pushed down on it. The effect was instantaneous. The window of the ship blinked dark and then the water falls of Hollow Bastion loomed in front of me. In a hurry I kicked the door out and walked onto the stone platform. With the exception of the crashing waters, the whole place was dead silent.

I focused my mind and felt myself warp into the library. There were noises coming from the entrance hall. I walked quickly to the second floor entrance and pushed the door open quietly. Below me were sounds of an intense battle. I walked quietly to the edge of the second floor and leaned over the railing.

Riku leapt out of the way of Sora's key and then darted in, flicking his own blade close to the Keybearer's chest. Before he connected, Goofy darted in and deflected the advancing blade. Leaping from behind Sora, Donald launched a surprise attack and blew a ball of fire into Riku's chest. The fireball thrust Riku across the hall, landing him in the fountain with a crash. As he struggled to free himself, Sora charged forward. Once Riku got his footing, Sora made a feint to the left that Riku fell for and then twirled around and hit Riku in the side with the non-lethal side of the Keyblade.

Riku coughed up blood and was sent sprawling across the floor. Panting heavily he got up. He looked venomously from Sora to the other two in his company. Silently, he wiped a trickle of crimson from his chin and then dashed up the stairs and out of the door at the top.

Sora solemnly put away his Keyblade and sighed. Out of a corner of the room, a large beast with a purple cape came lumbering into the center of the hall. They both looked to where Riku had just exited and then the beast said quietly, "So, your heart won this battle."

I smiled slightly at the ridiculousness of that statement and then teleported swiftly into the hallway where Riku had fled to. The door at the end of it shut as I materialized. Drops of blood littered the hallway. I began to run slowly after Riku. As I opened the door into the next room, Masmune quivered in excitement. I dove through the doorway and saw a brief flash of red and bright yellow as I tucked and rolled to my feet.

I drew Masamune and deflected four flying needles. They sprayed off in separate directions. Each one made my arms tingle with electricity. Spinning quickly I raised Masamune and blocked a downward strike from a large tomahawk. Using my strength, I knocked it away where it embedded itself into one of the stone pillars.

"Hmph. Not bad," exclaimed an amused Axel. He jumped forward and struck out with two spiked rings. The first one caught on Masamune while the second, aimed for my chest, stopped as I grabbed Axel's wrist with my free hand. Using his own momentum against him I twisted his wrist and flung him over my shoulder down the hall. As he flew he suddenly crashed into an invisible wall.

"Dammit Axel! The barrier is not made to be touched!" Zexion screamed in frustration.

Axel steadied himself and stood up, shaking his head. "Mind your own business oh master of illusion."

A yellow and black blur darted toward me and spun quickly. I managed to barely avoid the first two swipes. My attacker was a young girl with odd hair. In her hand she held bright yellow needles. Shut thrust in, dangerously close to my face and then danced nimbly away as I aimed a kick toward her legs.

"Larxene! Duck!" Shouted Lexaeus. The nimble girl dropped to the ground. Over her head came the large tomahawk, spinning around and over itself. Off balanced by the girls previous attacks, I just managed to avoid the flying object. It ricochet off the wall and rebounded back into Lexaeus' waiting hands.

Axel and Larxene both dashed toward me from opposite directions. I made a wide cut with Masamune that they both avoided and then raised my palm into the air. Larxene pulled back her fist, needles held between her fingers. Axel twirled his spiky rings around deftly and prepared to cut in with them

"Time to die." I said quietly.

Three pillars of flame burst up around me and Larxene screamed. She was carried up with the flames and crashed into the top of a large pillar. Her needles fell the floor and she went unconscious. Lexaeus ran to her and picked her up. Through the flames I heard footsteps and suddenly, Axel appeared in front of me.

"Pretty fancy," he said with a slight smirk. His fist found its way into my gut and then his foot unfurled and caught me in the chest. With the three pillars of fire still blazing I was hurled from them to come crashing into the stone wall.

"Zexion!" How much time we need now!" Lexaeus yelled to the silver haired man.

"Just a moment, I think Ansem is almost done."

"In that case I'm leaving and taking Larxene with me, she needs medical treatement. Axel! Think you can hold your own for a bit?"

Axel hopped from one foot to the other and held his finger out in a pantomime of a gun. He pulled it back quickly and then blew on it. "Don't you be worrying about me now ya hear? Get going, I got this covered."

I struggled to my feet and eyed Axel suspiciously. Behind him, Lexaeus and Larxene disappeared. "How is it that you weren't fazed by the fire?"

Axel raised his middle finger and a small spout of fire came out of it. "I have power over all things flammable, that's how."

I grimaced and then darted forward again. Axel ducked under my first slash and then attempted to come up under me with an uppercut. I danced to the side and brought me heel up and then back down towards him. He raised his arm and deflected the attack, sending me of balance. I stumbled to the side and whipped out Masamune in defense.

Axel howled in pain and jumped back to Zexion. There was a deep gash in his right arm which hung limply at his side. "Dammit…Zexion are we done here?"

Zexion furrowed his brow and then said, "Yes. We can go."

Axel smiled through his grimace of pain and then gave me a small salute. "Well…I'll be seeing you then." The two men vanished silently into the Nexus.

The area directly behind where Zexion had been standing, shimmered slightly and rippled. Gradually it seemed to melt away to reveal the same hallway with different occupants. Riku stood by the doorway leading out the opposite side. He looked down at his hands and smiled crazily. In front of him was a large brown cloak.

Riku tilted his head back and laughed loudly. The deep bass of the laugh did not fit his teenage figure. He laughed for quite some time and then finally turned to face me. His face drooped in what appeared to be disappointment.

"How did you get here?" Riku's voice sounded different, older and crueler almost.

"I took a Gummi ship."

Riku stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Odd…I had expected the Kurt Zisa to keep you longer."

"What?" Something inside me grew cold. "What…do you mean by that?"

"Hm?" Riku looked amused. "You haven't figured it out? I really had expected more of you Sephiroth." Riku spread his arms wide and grinned wolfishly. "You're too late my boy. I have already succeeded."

"Wait…you…"

"I _am _Ansem." Riku tilted his head back and laughed again. "It seems you are too late again."

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I'm not sure I like the last sentence of this chapter so much…not much zing to it if you ask me. But…no matter. Erm…I know that Seph and Mick killed all the Kurt Zisa. My only explanation for this is that…there are 4 of them? Maybe? USE YOUR IMAGINATION!

Anyway…thank you's go out to Prinsessa Garnet and xsaturnine for reviewing so quickly. I'd also like to say sorry to any reviewers who it seems like I'm ignoring because I obsess over xsaturnine so often. I love you all very much. Thank you for your patronage. Also sorry to xsaturnine but I will have to tone down the favoritism to be more fair to others. One last apology goes out to Prinsessa Garnet...I'm sorry about adding Mickey in here...I know you asked me to keep it Square related...but I couldn't help myself.

Ok…something that strikes me as odd. I got a couple new people who put Shadow Feather on their favorite's list…but gave no reviews of it? Look…I dunno if its just that im a newbie to but that seems odd. So…Chibi Milk, Lady Ravenstar19, and Rain Raider, if you guys like the fic so much and would like it to continue, appreciation and reviews help to further the creative process. Not that I would ever stop this fic because I felt under appreciated. I need to finish this thing otherwise it will haunt me forever.

Due to the fact that I will most likely not have a new chapter out by Monday…HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY! I won't be dressing up but I will die my hair silver for the festivities…I think I have nearly Kadaj length hair by now so I guess that's who I'll be. Sorry if it sounds like I'm half-assing my way through the holiday…but it's the best I could do on short notice.

For anyone who took the three point challenge issued in the last chapter...if you figured out where "apologate" comes from, put that information in your review. I'll reveal where it comes from in my next update. After that, the contest is null and there will be no points for anyone!


	13. Unlock

I guess I lied.

I don't own any of the characters or places below. You know what? Hell, why don't you guys just take my computer while you're at it. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you take my Playstation too! Why not my virginity as well? HOW DOES THAT SOUND SQUARE AND DISNEY? WANNA TAKE MY HUMANITY AWAY AND LEAVE A COLD AND LIFELESS SHELL OF A FORMER HUMAN BEING!

-cough-

Onto the fic…

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 13

Unlock

(small hopes)

Riku, or more accurately, Ansem smiled with an air of superiority at me. He let loose a tiny chuckle and crossed his arms smugly. His Mako green eyes shone in the dim hallway and he cracked his knuckles loudly. Raising an arm, he held his hand out and closed his glowing eyes. There was a small flash and some electricity crackled with the release of energy.

In his hands he held a dark black Keyblade. It wasn't quite the same as Sora's. The part at the top was shaped differently and the handle was red. He held it up to the dim lights above and then smiled adoringly at it.

"I've waited so long for this." He turned to me and lazily swung the Keyblade. "A Keyblade to unlock people's hearts. So very different from Sora's Keyblade. Polar opposites even." He smiled and cocked his head to the left. His eyes flashed dangerously. "I think…that I would like to test the thing out. What do you think?" I stepped back into a defensive stance and drew Masamune. Ansem smiled and took a step forward.

"And what will you do with that oversized piece of junk?" He laughed loudly and slashed the open air with his Keyblade. "Will you kill Riku? This is still his body, you know." I grimaced but held Masamune at the ready. "I can't imagine that you would but who can tell for sure." He stopped several feet away and fell into a fighting stance. "After all…you were just as evil as me once."

His speed surprised me. Ansem dashed forward and brought his Keyblade up toward my chest. After the initial surprise I countered the attack and Ansem ran past me. He turned quickly, Riku's silver hair whipping outwards and swung his Keyblade again. I ducked under the attack and began to thrust my heel towards the boy's chest.

"No! Please don't hurt me!" Riku's childish voice rang through the air. I paused for a moment in my attack. Riku smiled and cut towards me again with his Keyblade. "I guess you're just as foolish as before!" The black blade came swiftly toward my head. In a desperate maneuver, I rolled to the left and under the oncoming blade. Riku was left unbalanced by his attack and I twisted around and aimed a punch for the boy's chest.

"Please! Why are you-" Riku's voice was cut off as my fist connected with the boy's ribcage. He flew across the room and was crashed against a large pillar. He slowly got up, snarling in complaint. Ansem's voice emitted from Riku's mouth. "So you would really destroy the one you wish to protect?"

In my mind, I shouted "no" a thousand times but in hopes to strike fear into Ansem I said, "There is nothing left of Riku. All that remains is you. And I have no problem eradicating that." Riku's face dipped into a dark glower and then straightened up again.

"I suppose I'll just have to take you down right here then, won't I?" I did not let him wait for an answer and instead rushed at him with my blade upraised.

Ansem stepped back in fear and as I brought the blade screaming downward he smiled and screamed, "Come Guardian!" Riku's finger pointed over my right shoulder. In a flash I spun in place and brought Masamune tearing across my six. The blade connected with nothing.

Because nothing was there.

I felt the tip of Ansem's Keyblade tear into my lower back. I couldn't feel any blood fall but as I leapt away I felt the air on a large gash. I fell to my knees and dropped Masamune. The pain in my back was immense but something else hurt even more. I clutched at my left breast and found it difficult to breathe. My wing spazzed wildly behind me, making it difficult to keep my balance.

"The power to unlock people's hearts," Ansem leaned over me and smiled in awe. "It's amazing really. The Keyblade unlocks your heart and lets the darkness flood into it." Air stopped entering my lungs entirely. I pitched over and fell face first into the stone floor. My wing flapped wildly against the floor. I felt Riku's hand pat me on the head roughly. "Well…you'll be a Heartless soon. I bid you farewell." He waved his hand dismissively. "Why don't you go wreak some havoc in Traverse Town after this, ok? I have more important things to do." The world blacked out and I found myself in the Nexus again.

All around me, Heartless danced and jittered. They poured over me and tore at my flesh but I couldn't feel any of it. Unable to move I saw my heart rise from my body until it hovered high above the mass of Heartless. The shadows that had been pulling at me looked up with slavering jaws. They leapt and jumped to get it. They laughed and cheered in an insane ritual as they piled on top of each other to reach the glittering object.

I felt my body lift into the air. Propelled by a force stronger than anything I had ever felt in my life. I was raised above the tower of crawling Heartless and was held limply in front of my own floating heart. The Heartless below stopped reaching upwards and just stared at me as I drifted slowly toward the object.

As I got closer I felt something writhing inside me. Something tearing and pushing to get out from the inside. It thrust and jerked inside me and began to find its way out through cuts and tears that the Heartless had inflicted. A shadowy tendril crept slowly out of my chest and moved toward the glittering object. The darkness at the base of the tendril began to spread across my chest and move outwards, reaching to my fingers and my legs.

The tendril of shadow touched my disembodied heart and wrapped itself slowly around it. The overwhelming shadow slid over my chin and into my mouth. It covered my legs to the feet and slowly moved its way to the scalp. The tendril drew my heart towards my body. The creeping darkness moved around my eyes, leaving them intact and uncovered.

I could feel my consciousness slipping away as my heart grew ever nearer. When it was only a foot away and my entire body was black with shadow, my arms shot out on their own and grabbed it. I felt my mouth open and my hands slowly guided my heart towards the opening. As the last bit of sanity fell from me, the heart slipped into my impossibly wide mouth and down into darkness.

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Running. Running through black. Couldn't stop. No need to stop. I had orders. The one in control had given me orders. Go to the Town. Traverse Town. That was my job. I could not forget. Go to Traverse Town and "wreak havoc." The others stayed out of my way. They knew what they had to do. They have their orders, I have mine.

So I am running. It won't be long now until I reach the exit. Then I can do my job. Then I can fulfill my duty. I didn't have a body. Not in this place. There is no light to make a body for me. I did not need one. All I needed to do was get to the exit. I found it. The exit to Traverse Town. A small world. Lots of us in it. People try and stop us. They can not but they send many of us back. Too hard to take the world with them there.

"Wreak havoc."

I entered the world into the open air. I had a body now. Large like Defender but swift like Neo. I have magic coursing through me. Stronger than the Wizard. I am strong. I can complete my mission. There are people in the area. They are screaming. What do I do? Attack of course. That is my mission. That is what I must do. But how do I do that? There is an object in my hand. Sword. Like Bandit and Pirate.

Use the sword to hurt them. That is my job. I cut the first one. One of them stopped screaming. The heart rose upwards and I devoured it quickly. What an amazing taste. There were still more. Cut them again. Again. Eat the hearts. Taste them. So good.

There is a large door. There are people running through it. They are screaming as well. I reach them and cut again and again. The feeble bodies cave easily. Eat hearts Make me stronger. There is a large area. Different than before. Blue and white. No more people left. Must find more. Need to find more to complete the mission.

I found one.

"Oh shit! Yuffie! Aerith! We got a tough one!" The man has a sword as well. Cut him. My sword is stopped.

"Dammit…Aerith! Gimme some defense! This one is strong!"

"Aeroga!"

Wind. There is wind around him. Difficult to cut. Difficult to get the heart.

"Take this you big meanie!"

A smaller one. Small things flying. They hurt. It would be best to throw them back. Something hits me. I am falling. I hit the wall. There is another man. He has a spear.

"Best you rethink your tactics."

Punch him. The spear hurts. Punch through the spear. It breaks into my arm, but the man falls to the ground. There is no heart. Do I need to cut him? He is still breathing. I need to cut him.

Bright blue light. It's inside me, through me. In my stomach. It hurts. More than the other things.

"Stay the fuck away from Cid!"

I need to cut the brown haired one first. Need to get rid of the blue light. It makes his sword bigger. Need to get rid of that first. Fire? Yes.

"Agh! Dammit!" It hit him. He is hurt. There is no heart. There must be need for more. "Everyone, he knows magic too!"

"Watch out Leon!"

A kick. The brown haired one falls against the wall. Still no heart. There is still breathing. Cut him.

More blue light. Smaller light this time. Star shaped. In my chest. A lot of pain. The smallest one is still there. Wet eyes.

"LEAVE SQUALL ALONE!"

More movement. There's another one. More brown hair.

"Yuffie…look at its eyes."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ITS EYES!"

It jumps. I punch. It falls and there is no heart still. Cut them all? It must be done.

"Planet Protector!"

Yellow light, little stars. Golden people. Cutting doesn't work. Fire doesn't work. Ice, Thunder, Flare, Ultima. Nothing works.

"Sephiroth!"

The standing one is there. Open arms. Glowing gold.

"Sephiroth I don't know what happened but stop!"

I cut it. It stands there still.

"I know that it's you! Stop doing this!"

Punch. Kick. Nothing works

"Please! You promised all of us that you would protect us!"

Wet eyes. The gold is fading.

"Sephiroth! Come back to us! Don't be a Heartless anymore!"

The gold is gone now.

"Please…"

I punch it. It falls. Sleeping. There still aren't any hearts. I need to cut them. Raise it up. Bring it down on the one with the spear.

And it stops.

"Hiya Seph!"

Small one. Very small. In his hand…

"I came to fix you up real nice. So don't you worry about a thing ok?"

Something golden.

"You can't remember who I am now or understand what I'm saying…but I'll bring you back no problem buddy."

Key.

Golden light.

Floating Hearts.

Hojo.

Cloud.

Aerith.

Leon.

Riku.

Sora.

Sephiroth.

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Air poured into my lungs. My body was one collective throbbing pain. My head was pounding and my back felt like it was on fire. I sat up quickly and felt strong hands push me down. I struggled against them but the pain that followed the struggling forced me to cry out and lay back in the bed.

"Take it easy there Sephiroth!" Leon stood over me, stoic frown ever in place. Ash fell softly onto my cheek and I saw Cid standing on the other side thoughtfully puffing a cigarette.

"So you woke up?"

I nodded and then winced as the pain in my neck shot fiery tendrils into my brain. Breathing heavily I raised one hand in front of my face.

"You gave us all one hell of a scare," Cid said casually.

"What…what did…"

"You were a Heartless." Leon leaned against the bed and grimaced. "You started tearing people up in the first district and then followed them to the third district when they tried to get us to help them." We attacked you without knowing who you were and you handed our asses to us." Aerith stepped into view and touched Leon lightly on the shoulder. He turned away and stalked out of the room.

"I noticed that your eyes were different than those of the Heartless. I saw that they were your eyes. So I called out to you but you wouldn't listen. In the end you knocked us all unconscious and when we woke up we found you lying there in the same state as the rest of us had been." He looked up and sighed. "You were hurt really badly and I couldn't cure you without risking my own safety so Leon and Cid carried you to Merlin's and he fixed you up the best he could. Even with his magic he couldn't stop the pain physical pain you must be feeling right now."

"It's…not a problem. I have a lot of gratitude for this act of kindness." Aerith smiled and touched my hand lightly. "What were Leon and Yuffie doing back from the Coliseum?"

"The tournament was put off. Something about an ice giant running amok. According to Phil, it should be put back out to the public in a day or two, assuming they can get the situation under control."

"Ah…I see."

Aerith smiled and wiped away the ash that remained on my cheek. Cid inhaled deeply on his cigarette and blew out a long jet of smoke. Aerith pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear and said quietly, "You've been unconscious for three days now." Before I could raise myself into a sitting position, Cid's rough hands gripped me by the shoulders and held me down.

"Let me up! I need to see Riku! I need to go to Hollow Bastion!"

"Hold on a second you crazy sunuvabitch!" yelled Cid.

"There isn't time for this! I need to find him!"

"Listen for a second! We have word about Riku!" Cid shouted into my face. I stopped struggling against him. Cid lit another cigarette and took a long draw on it. "He's been possessed by Ansem."

"I know that," I interrupted in frustration.

"But he's fighting," continued Aerith. "When Sora confronted him for the last time before escaping Hollow Bastion, Riku managed to take his body back long enough to let them escape. He's still there and there is still a chance to save him."

This new development was amazing. It made my breath come short and inside me something grew warmer. "What can I do to help?"

Leon's voice sounded from the edge of my vision and he said quietly, "If I were you I would give Sora your Keychain that you forged. Right now that boy is the only chance we have at saving the worlds…and Riku."

Aerith nodded solemnly and turned to me with smiling eyes. "But for now the most important thing is for you to regain your strength. And that will take at least one more day. You will meet Sora in the Coliseum when you are able to. In the meantime, rest." Her silver voice filled my ears and though I yearned to go to the Coliseum instantly, I knew that she was right. I closed my eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

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Once again I fear that my chapter has ended on a not so snazzy note. I'm also kinda iffy on the whole Sephiroth as a Heartless scene. It's supposed to be frenetic and fast paced but I'm afraid that it will just come out as being poor grammar and a dumb idea…tell me what you think. I must say that I surprised myself by cranking this chapter out before the weekend. I am proud of myself for that.

Thank yous for xsaturnine and Prinsessa Garnet as well as newcomers(?) Lapse – Raevn and F00l3Al2. Also an apology to you Garnet about my reviews on your story. I hadn't realized that English wasn't your first language. I was thrown off by the seemingly perfect grammar in your reviews and in Thinking in Darkness. I mean the verdict still stands that the grammar makes it difficult to understand the plot but I give you more credit and much more leniency. (I had been afraid you were actually some kind of terrible writer and maybe like stole your other story) I wish you luck on understanding all the craziness about English grammar.

To anyone who actually spent time looking up "apologate"…it's from a subcomic on called MS Paint Masterpieces. (Who am I kidding. No one actually searched for it.) It's an awesome comic if you like Megaman or if you just like old school graphics (go 8-bit!)

I think that by the time I get a new chapter out after this one, I will have gotten 1000 hits on Shadow Feather. So I'ma celebrate now…WOOHOO!

That's all I have to say for now. There will _definitely _not be any more chapters before Halloween. You have my word this time. Sorry if it seems like a long wait but you guys will be ok. Later! And Happy Halloween!


	14. Deals and Memories

I don't not own none of the characters or places you see below. Never.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 14

Deals and Memories

I awoke several days later. My body felt perfectly fine but my mind felt shaky, as if it were trying to recover from tripping over something. Leon and Yuffie had already left for the Coliseum to register for the Hades Cup. I considered joining it myself but decided that it would be safer not to do so in the off chance that I might run into Cloud earlier than I wished. When Cid returned from his trip to the Coliseum, he informed Aerith and I that he had no intention of making another one. He said he was tired and needed to restock on smokes.

Aerith took me to a new shop in the First District. The man in charge was named Geppetto. He sold designs for Gummi ships as well as the occasional full one. Because Cid would allow no one but himself to fly the Highwind, we got a ship from the puppeteer. We did not dwell on goodbyes. Cid and I had nothing to say. Aerith remembered what we had said last time. All we needed was a nod.

Once again, the Gummi ship had the destination all set and like Mickey's ship, had the warp drive function. When I entered the ship and pressed the button, I reached the planet in a matter of seconds. Upon leaving the ship I once again entered the large open grounds of the Coliseum courtyard. Dust whipped back and forth with the wind.

On a wall to my right, a large poster hung on the wall. I looked at it for a little while. It had the names of all the teams competing in the Hades tournament. I located Cloud and Leon's names in the 20th seed slot. I browsed briefly for Sora's name and eventually found it in the 23rd slot.

Suddenly the Coliseum doors burst open and an excited Phil scuttled across the courtyard with Hercules following closely behind. They stopped in front of the giant poster and Phil turned to Hercules. "Up," he said simply. Hercules lifted Phil up to the board and Phil reached out and swapped the 23rd and 22nd slots. After gently placing Phil on the dirt floor they looked up to admire the board.

Hercules smiled slightly and said, "He's moving along at an absolutely breakneck pace."

Phil grunted grudgingly and replied, "Yea…I s'pose."

"You like the kid don't you?" Hercules said slyly.

Phil crossed his arms and harrumphed loudly. "He's just a punk!"

"That's what you said about me."

Phil, eager to change the subject, glanced quickly around the courtyard. He noticed me and yelled out, "'Ey you! Registrations for the Hades Cup are closed! What do you want here?"

I thought for a moment. I wanted to fight with Sora. That was easy enough. Meeting him in the Arena would be the easiest way. "I want to fight the winner of the Hades Cup."

Phil looked dumbfounded and then laughed derisively. "Listen buddy. We can't just do that. You gotta enter the tournament just like everyone else."

"Are there any more tournaments coming up?"

"Not for a long time."

"Is there any way to organize a one on one fight then?"

Phil pulled at his goatee and then snorted. "Nope. Rules say that I can't give preferential treatment unless I like the person or they show some extraordinary skill." He turned his back and said over his shoulder, "And I _don't _like you!"

"Well then what would I have to do to show you I have extraordinary skill?"

Phil sighed in exhaustion. "I dunno. You come up with something if you want it so bad. I have a tournament to run. I can't be babysitting you all day."

I pointed to Hercules. "Is he in the tournament?"

Hercules raised an eyebrow and said with an edge of curiosity, "No…"

"Then I propose a one on one match with you. If I win within five minutes, I get to face any member of the Hades Cup I choose."

Phil turned around and dropped his jaw. After collecting himself from shock, he snorted and then fell over laughing. He rolled in the dirt for several minutes and then, with tears in his eyes stood up. He shook slightly and held his knees for support. "You got guts, kid. No doubt about that. I'll let you have your match, but never mind the time limit." He turned to Hercules and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You know the drill, don't hurt him too bad. Take it easy."

Hercules threw a little salute and then turned to me. "We've got to watch the next tournament match but right after that we'll spar for a bit." I nodded and followed them cautiously into the waiting room. Cloud was no where to be seen and I let out a little breath of relief. Leon leaned against the far wall. He looked at me with an upraised eyebrow and I shook my head. He nodded and lowered his head in contemplation. Phil walked out the door with Hercules.

"You're too late to sign up for the Hades Cup you know," said Leon.

"Yea."

"How are you going to face Sora?"

"I've got it under control."

Leon looked at me for a moment and then scoffed slightly. "Got it under control…boy have I heard that one before." I looked inquisitively at Leon. He shook his head. "The people I used to hang out with, back on my real world…Zell would say that a lot." He smiled and rubbed his temples. "He was usually wrong. For a while anyway. I never did give him enough credit in his abilities." He looked at me for a moment and then sighed. "I'm sorry…you probably don't want to hear this."

"It must be hard…losing people in the world shift."

"Yea…it is. But you would know too wouldn't you? You must have lost some friends when you lost your world. Someone close to you?"

I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms. "I didn't have that many friends."

"I used to think that way. But everyone has at least one person."

I smiled slightly. "I thought I did."

"Thought?"

"As it turned out she was just using me."

"She?"

"Mother."

Leon looked at me strangely and then lowered his head. "Your own mother…using you? That's difficult to believe."

"She wasn't my mother. She was Mother. I believed in her. She made me feel complete. When I found out what I was, she provided some sort of freedom from thought. She gave me redemption of a sort. She did wonderful things for me…but I did terrible things for her. It took me a long time but I finally realized that she never cared about me at all…just the Reunion…and that is all."

Leon didn't say anything for a long time. We stood in silence for what seemed like hours. Finally, with difficulty Leon spoke. "Is that…why you killed Aerith?"

"Yes."

"She made you do it."

"No." I hugged myself tightly and looked at the floor. "She didn't make me do it. She just made it seem like it was the right thing to do. So I did. Without question. Because I believed her."

Leon looked at me with sadness in his eyes. "You've been through a lot." I nodded and we both knew that there was nothing more to say. As if triggered by the silence, the door slowly opened. Phil walked in with Hercules behind him.

"Another victory! I can't believe this kid!" he looked pointedly and Leon. "You're next. Go get your partner ready." Leon nodded and walked through the door to the arena. Phil looked at me and smiled broadly. "Your turn now, my friend. I figger we'll use the courtyard cause the arena will be in use."

"That's fine by me," I said.

"Me too," said Hercules.

When we were both in the center of the courtyard, Phil sat down on the steps and raised his hand. "SHAKE HANDS!" Hercules reached out a muscular arm and I gripped his leathery palm. We shook briefly and then stepped back several paces. I turned to look at Phil.

"I know you said to forget about the time limit but will you start a clock anyway? If I win I don't want you to BS your way out of the deal."

Phil raised a fist angrily and shook it. He looked like he was about to yell something when Hercules cut in. "Just do it Phil. It couldn't hurt." Phil, looking flustered, hobbled into the waiting room and fetched out a small clock and set it to two minutes.

"Alright you cocky punk, let's see what you can do! I want a fair match! Let's get it on!"

On his mark I unhooked Masamune from my side and threw it to the ground by the wall. Hercules raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. He lifted his hand and held it out. He curled his fingers in condescending manner. "Come on buddy, clock's ticking." With that he began to lower his arm and assume a fighting position.

Before his arm could reach his side, my fist connected with the man's chest. The air drove from his lungs and his eyes bulged out. He flew backwards with unbelievable force but I still passed him and delivered a crushing roundhouse to the rotating man. The kick knocked him to the earth where he literally bounced from the floor into the air. Adrenaline rushing, I moved as fast as I could and met him in mid air as he rebounded upwards. Twisting my body in a full circle I used the momentum to bring my fist into his shoulder, sending in a crazy spiral straight toward the ground. He hit the soil with a crash. The collision shook the ground slightly. I landed lightly on one foot and smiled politely at the sprawled out figure.

"BY THE BEARD OF ZEUS!" Phil's jaw had reached the floor and was making small movements as it trying to eat something entirely too large for the small creature. He stared, wide-eyed, at his protégé.

"Are you going to count or is that the end?"

Phil shook himself and looked at the clock. Fifteen seconds had passed since Phil signaled the beginning of the fight. Phil shook himself again and nodded quickly. "Yea…erm…that's then end. Erm…you win."

"Hold on a second there, Phil." Hercules lurched to his feet. He looked somewhat woozy but otherwise no worse for the wear. He unsheathed a tiny sword and hurled it at the clock next to Phil. It pierced through the face and shattered the entire object. "The fight's not over yet. I would suggest you forget about the time limit. You underestimate how sturdy I am."

I cocked my head to one side. The boy was strong. I remembered his fight with the three headed dog. I knew he had immense offensive capabilities but I hadn't imagined he would be so tough when it came to endurance. A smile formed on the edge of my lips. "Alright."

I ran forward in a frontal assault. Hercules stepped back and raised a muscular fist. Calculating where I would be, he punched forcefully forward. Without hesitation I ducked under his fist and brought my elbow up into his abdomen. Hercules grunted in pain but recovered immediately and brought his free hand in a swift chop toward my neck. At the last second I grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Using his own weight against him I brought him off the ground. When he was directly above me, I pulled down hard on his arm and unfurled my leg in a vicious upward kick to his stomach.

For a moment he balanced there on my heel. I let go of his wrist and twisted my hips to bring my heel downwards with Hercules still hanging onto it. The position we arrived in had me nearly standing directly on the man's stomach with one foot. I ground my heel into his stomach and leaned over to grab his heels. Rolling on the floor with him in tow, I threw him away from me with my foot. He flew across the courtyard and smashed loudly into the stone wall.

"Herc!"

"Hercules may be strong, but he lacks the technique to make use of his strength," I commented to Philocetes.

There was suddenly a loud poof from across the yard and Hades appeared next to the slumped figure of Hercules. He gazed hungrily at the unconscious figure and then looked at me. "Well I had my doubts Sephiroth my boy…but you did deliver in the end!"

Phil looked from Hades to Hercules to me and then back to Hades. He pointed at me with a shaking finger and shouted, "YOU!"

"Yep, him." Hades smiled and patronizingly blew me a kiss. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have learned too much from previous failures to let this fella sleep for too long." Hades raised a hand and it burst into bright white flames. The flame glowed and filled the courtyard with light. He smiled maniacally and let loose a loud cackle. I dashed forward and flung out my hand, summoning Masamune to it.

Hades brought his fiery palm careening toward Hercules. With only centimeters remaining between the Hades' hand and Hercules' skull, I tore Masamune from it's sheathe and struck a deafening blow to Hades' chest. The dull side of the blade connected and thrust Hades across the dirt floor. He landed on his feet across the yard and burst into bright white flames. Rage caused his eyes to roll back into his skull and screamed something unintelligible.

Masamune shook violently in my hand. The intense vibrations meant that my life was in danger. I grabbed Hercules by the wrist and teleported to Phil. I grabbed the little man and dove behind one of the Coliseum pillars. Milliseconds after I had taken cover, white flames erupted from Hades' body. They coursed through the courtyard and scorched everything in sight. The flames tore around the pillar and left us overheated but not burned.

When the flames subsided I stepped out from behind the pillar. My hair was disheveled and messy. It fell across my face. I gripped Masamune until my knuckles tuned white. I took a step toward the God. My teeth clenched in absolute rage. I took another step and the energy that was being summoned about my person caused a small crater to form where my foot touched the ground.

Hades' white flames were slowly dying down to their usual blue color. His pupils reappeared and he looked upon me with more logical eyes. I took another step forward. Pebbles and stones began to rise from the ground and I formed another crater with the uncontrolled power that was issuing from my person.

Hades angry expression melted away and was replaced with one of uncomfortable fear. "Whoa there Sephirtoh, baby. Listen…I may have almost killed you just there…but look at the big picture…I didn't. Right?"

I slowly raised Masamune and then slashed violently outward with it. The flames atop Hades head severed and fell to the side until the laws of nature decided that this was no way for a fire to behave and Hades' "hair" righted itself once again.

"WHOA! Hold on there buddy! Ok…so I'm just going to get on out of here, alright?"

I took another earth-rending step forward. Hades waved comically and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I scanned the area once more for any trace of the god and finally sheathed Masamune with a wide smile. Phil came running toward me and stopped a few feet away.

"What's you deal?" He asked suspiciously. "You workin' for Hades or not?"

"My deal is the one I made with you. And I don't work for Hades at all."

Phil looked at me with a doubtful expression but finally relented. "Aright…I'll trust you fer now…but only 'cause you saved me an Herc here. You'll get your match, who do you want it with?"

"Sora. The Keybearer. One-on-One."

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I like the fight between Hercules and Sephiroth…I think it's high time Seph owned someone. Who better than a godmoding Disney demi-god?

Yay reviewers! The following people are cool and you should give them munnies: xsaturnine, Emmy19 and…this is odd…Prinsessa Garnet…did you change your pen name? Well…thankies to Unita for reviewing as well!

It feels weird not having a long authors note…but…I suppose this is all I have to say. Thank you all for reading so much! I love you all! Except you. No. Him. Yea. Later!


	15. Give 'em Hell

I don't own Square or Disney or any of its characters or places. So there.

If ever I wanted your opinions…it would be on this chapter. I ask you to review not so much for me…but for you.

You guys have been waiting for it. SO IT'S TIME TO DELIVER! The fight between Sora and Sephiroth is nigh! Check this mother out!

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 15

Give 'em Hell

"So you got your match." Leon stood with his arms crossed against one of the large white pillars in the courtyard. He ran his fingers through his brown hair and gave a small chuckle.

"Yes. Phil arranged a 'prize fight' in the roster with me as the opponent." I played with the Keychain I had made for Sora. The small wing flipped around my knuckles with small clinking sounds.

"I think I saw that one. The Platinum Match."

I glanced up and smiled slightly. "Platinum? Isn't that something."

"How do you plan to fight him?"

"I'll let him win if I think he's strong enough. Otherwise I'll just knock him unconscious and he'll need to try again."

Leon smiled again and laughed. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Cloud and I just fought him." My interest peeked, I listened closely. Leon held his gunblade in front of him and watched the light reflect from it. "I didn't plan on giving it my all. But Sora has gotten much stronger since the last time either of us saw him fight." He let the gunblade create darting lights on the dirt floor. "It seems like after the Hollow Bastion incident, he's been really training himself to become as strong as he can be." He ran his fingers through his hair again and shook his head. "He handed my ass to me."

This was most interesting indeed. "Did he really?"

"Yea. I'm not upset. It just means that we have someone stronger to help save the world." He paused for a moment and then said, "Cloud on the other hand…he didn't ave to fight for keeps. After I got knocked out, Cloud just tore through Goofy and Donald like it was nothing. When it was down to Sora and him though, things got really interesting."

"What happened?"

"They went blow for blow for a long time. They couldn't break each other's guards at all. I've fought next to Cloud before so I know what he looks like at full strength. He wasn't fighting like that but you could see that Sora was giving a hard time at his present level."

"Who won?"

"Cloud eventually gave in and Sora got a lucky shot. They moved past us in the tournament."

I stood there for a moment contemplating everything and then wandered over to the large poster with the teams on it. Sora was at the 12th seed. All the teams below him seemed to just consist of Heartless which shouldn't be a problem for him, although the first and tenth seeds were different. "Rock Titan…and…Hades?" I mumbled.

The door burst open again and Phil ran out. Hercules followed behind him and lifted the man up to the 12th seed spot. He flipped the 12th and 11th and then ran back inside without a word. I glanced again at the board. Sora was fighting Hades next. I figured I ought to see this fight.

Entered the arena with the match already underway. Fire and ice streamed across the arena floor and the contestants darted left and right. Hades finally broke out from the sea of spells and summoned a large fireball to his hand. He threw it at Sora who was dashing toward him. Sora raised his Keyblade, black and sinister looking, and smashed the fireball head on. It flew back at Hades and connected with his chest.

Sora yelled something when he reached the dazed Hades and his body became engulfed in yellow light. Sora struck with a flurry of swift blows. Each one connected and sent Hades reeling backwards. The intense assault finally ended with Sora doing a flip and using his momentum to bring the Keyblade down hard on Hades' skull. Hades looked as though he would recover when suddenly Donald, the duck, leaped from behind Sora and shot a large shard of ice into Hades' face.

The god reeled and fell over backwards. Phil rushed onto the field and threw down a towel, signaling the end of the match. I exited through the doorway and propped myself against a wall. It would be some time for the tournament to end. So I appeased myself by meditating.

After a small while, my concentration was broken when an enormous crashing sound boomed from the arena. Phil rushed through the doorway and yelled at me, "It's the last match!" The name that had been in the First Seed slot came back to me. Rock Titan. I opened the door and looked outside.

Sora and his partners stood in fighting positions in front of me. Beyond them, the entire arena was obscured by some huge rocky outcroppings. I followed the rocks with my eye as they led upward. Finally I reached the top and saw that this thing wasn't just rock, it was something alive. It roared with two heads and stomped, sending shockwaves through the earth.

Sora and his crew ran forward and started to attack the right foot of the monster. After some time it faltered and fell with a crash on it's back. Sora and Goofy jumped and dashed up the monster's leg. I smiled slightly when I saw this and then strolled back inside the waiting room. This would be a simple match. Sora would overcome this mountain with ease.

I walked up to Phil and said, "Sora will win this one. When he's done and healed himself from the tournament, tell him about my match. Tell him that it will be the most difficult fight he will ever come across. Tell him, to be prepared." With those last words I teleported back into the arena and waited in one of the large tunnels on the side.

Sora struck the final blow and the Rock Titan burst apart into a shower of stones. They jumped and cavorted and then ran into the waiting room. After a long time, the door opened again and Sora dashed out, alone. He stopped in the center of the arena and looked around expectantly. I stood up and stretch my wing to its full length. Time to give him a good show.

I summoned energy to my palm and thrust it outwards, pointing to the sky. Bright symbols formed and twisted, gathering light and drawing the young boy's eyes to them. They swirled in the sky and then shot down a bright pillar of light. The light formed a large dome of bright white energy. I kneeled down and teleported into that dome.

The light slowly dissipated into small sparkles. I heard Sora gasp and take a step back. It was of utmost importance that I make him know that this fight will not be easy. Slowly, inching upwards, I began to stand up. My leather bound knuckles sluggishly left the stone tiles and I unbent myself to stand at my full height. For a while I rested with my back to the Keybearer. I could feel him breathing heavily as his options rushed through his mind. Something about me scared him senseless and he could not place it. He never could. What would make him even more frightened? Ah yes…speed.

My hand darted out like black and red lightning. Sora nearly kneeled down in terror at the sudden motion. My wing followed my hand and stretched outwards to its full span. After a moment I turned to face him. Sweat fell from his brow and he gripped his Keyblade tightly. I smiled coldly at him and stepped backwards slowly. My hand fell upon Masamune's hilt and I cocked my head slightly, telling him that it was time for the match to begin.

The boy shook himself violently and stilled his shaking arms. A look of resolve came over his eyes and then he ran towards me. He was fast. He closed the distance far quicker than I had expected. Still eight feet away I pulled Masamune from its sheath and sliced quickly at the boy. Caught unawares, Sora barely had enough time to bring his own blade upward to block mine. Steel rang on steel and Sora was lifted from the ground. He flew across the arena and smashed into the barrier.

"You need to take this more seriously," I mumbled. "Don't let your fear get the best of you."

Sora struggled to his feet. Using his Key for support he stood up and wiped a trickle of blood from his lips. He raised his key and pointed it toward me. His eyes hardened although they still held fear inside them. "Firaga!"

A large ball of flame burst from the end of his Keyblade. It hurtled toward my head. A large smile began to form on Sora's face as he watched it grow nearer to me. "Never underestimate your opponent." The ball of flame exploded and washed over my chest. Sora let out a cheer and then stopped. I stood there, completely unscathed by his ridiculous attack. Smiling, I cracked my neck and began to walk slowly toward the boy.

Sora panicked. He stepped back and fell against the wall. His eyes darted every which way and sweat began to form on his brow. "Aeroga!" Wind began to flash around his body, forming a protective shield. Sora sighed in relief. I drew closer to him, walking slowly with deliberate steps. Sora cracked a grin and motioned that I should come at him, confident behind his shield of wind.

I darted forward and slashed diagonally with Masamune. The shield of wind did nothing to stop the lightning fast blade as it caught Sora by the hip and sent him flying again. He landed on his hands and knees and coughed up blood. He grabbed at his hip in pain and scrambled to his feet. I began walking slowly towards him once again. Sora looked at me for a long time and I saw the fear evaporate slowly from his eyes. "That's right," I said quietly.

He ran at me again. Another frontal assault. His enormous shoes slapped against the ground. When he was finally close enough I whipped Masamune out again. As the blade grew close to the boy he shouted something. "Sonic Blade!" His speed increased ten fold. Holding his key out straight he took one last leap forward and before I had a chance to switch from offensive to defensive, the Key connected with my stomach.

I stumbled backwards but even as I did that, Sora tore past me. In seconds I regained my footing and turned to face him. I discovered him only inches from me. The Key once again connected with my body and sent me spinning. I caught myself and found Sora as he came around for another attack. I raised Masamune to block the boy's attack but it came again too quickly and I was sent reeling again. He came a fourth time and for another time I fell to the side.

As he wound up for his fifth attack I closed my eyes and teleported out of the way. He careened past where I had been and then stopped in confusion. I burst back into reality with a leaping slash from behind the bewildered child. The blade connected with his shield and shattered it. Sora flew head over heels across the stone tiles to land ungracefully on his knees.

As he stood up I gazed into his eyes. There was not even a hint of overconfidence in them. All I saw was a cold cautiousness. "Excellent."

Sora dashed head long at me. I raised Masamune and half-heartedly made a horizontal cut in his direction, leaving me with enough time to revert to the defensive should he try his Sonic Blade attack again. When Masamune was about to collide with the boy he jumped high over the blade and flipped gracefully toward me. Twisting swiftly he brought his Keyblade down in a hard strike directed at my head.

I side stepped the aerial attack and raised one arm upwards. Sora landed and whirled around, intending to strike at me again. "Time to die," I said softly. Sora's pupils dilated in terror and the ground beneath his feet burst into flame. The pillars of fire reached up to the sky and lifted the boy along with them as well. I watched him closely as he plummeted to the ground. In mid air he cast some low level ice spells on himself to put out his flaming clothes as well as Curaga. "Amazing…all that before you even hit the ground," I muttered in awe.

Sora fell to earth with all of his health in tact due to his cure spell. He landed lightly on his feet and immediately pressed the attack. He came at me with a series of quick strikes which I parried easily. When our blades broke apart again I raised my arm and prepared to summon fire again. Sora flipped away nimbly and yelled the name of another attack. "Ars Arcanum!" Gold light surrounded his body and he tore through the pillars of flame. He hit me again and again and finally pushed me out of the flames and to the ground.

As he leapt to stab at me on the ground I teleported across the arena. I looked at him for a moment and he turned to face me. We stared at each other for a time and then I raised an arm and motioned with it. "Come."

Sora, drawn in by my taunt dashed recklessly in my direction. I ran toward him and as we were about to meet in the middle, I teleported again. I reappeared across behind Sora by the edge of the barrier. Sora looked around wildly hoping to find me. "Descend Heartless Angel." I traced bright lines of light in the air. Sora stood across the tiles from me and watched with caution in his eyes. When I finished the spell a small symbol formed over the boy's head. He looked up, not knowing what to expect and suddenly it burst.

I saw him open his mouth to scream. I saw him fall forward, hoping to stop himself with his arms and legs. I saw his eyes open far too wide and tears form and evaporate instantly on them. His face hit the ground and he lay there silently. I waited for a moment. One finger twitched and he dazedly stood up. He was checking himself for magic; I could see that easily enough. I began to run toward him. He looked at me with absolute terror on his face.

I drew nearer and he took off running. I was faster than him and pulled up next to him. Masamune flicked out in a horizontal attack and the boy dove recklessly to avoid it. He crawled with tears in his eyes away from me with all the speed he could manage. I struck down with Masamune at his exposed back and he covered his head and rolled away. He made it to his feet and began to stumble across the tiles. He was reaching into his pocket for something. I teleported directly next to him. He looked at me with horror as I raised my palm to the sky. He threw his small bottle into the air. Its shiny blue contents shimmered in the light. The ground grew warm beneath my feet and a blue light formed above the boy's head.

Fire burst up everywhere and Sora was hurled across the tiles to smash loudly into a pillar. He fell slowly to earth. I looked sadly upon his limp figure and shook my head. Perhaps I had gone too hard on him. That attack was too much for him. I would need to leave that one out next time.

"Ahem?"

The voice sounded from behind me. I whirled around to catch the Keyblade directly in my face. I rolled over myself and leapt to my feet to see Sora land lightly on the ground. He brandished the Keyblade in his hands and dashed toward me. I felt a smile creep onto my lips. "Fantastic."

We exchanged a flurry of blows, each stronger and more daring than the last. Sora evaded my thrusts and slashes with ease and returned with some of his own less refined attacks. I dodged and blocked the strikes easily enough but was caught unawares when Sora preformed a backflip over Masamune's blade and hurled his own blade at me. As the Keyblade flew at me, flipping over and over. I let loose a wide grin and fell into a more ready stance.

I tore around the Keyblade and began to strike again and again at the bewildered Sora. The blows came quickly one after another. Without any sword, Sora was left defenseless. When he finally avoided one swipe, he caught the Keyblade as it came flying back to him. In a futile attempt to block the oncoming strikes, he held up his sword. I broke through his guard instantly and continued to attack again and again. When I judged that it was finally enough, I leapt high in the air and tore downward, striking the ground in front of Sora. The strike sent ripples of darkness and lightning coursing through the stadium.

Sora fell to one side with blood streaming from his left leg. He muttered "Curaga" and immediately pressed the attack. As we traded blows I watched him closely. I could see in his movements that he wasn't just fighting with me. He knew that this battle wasn't what mattered. He wanted to become stronger. He wanted to become the strongest. That was the only way he could protect people. He had to beat me in order to become stronger and protect more people. That is what he was fighting for.

I could have let him win. I could have let him strike me down just then but I wanted to test him one more time. He needed to overcome this final obstacle if he wanted my blessing on his journey. We broke apart again and as he jumped forward to attack me again, I teleported away. Again and again I teleported around the arena. He stopped chasing me and instead held his blade at the ready. I finally came to rest in the center of the tiles. My body glowed bright gold and I held Masamune aloft.

Sora dashed at me but when his blade came into contact with my body he was thrust back by the sheer energy that surrounded me. I hurled Masamune into the sky and looked at him. My silver hair whipped around wildly and I pointed toward him.

"I shall take you to the promised land!"

The arena turned a dark shade of blood red and something began to form in the sky. Sora stumbled to his feet and cast Aeroga on himself again. He stood close to the barrier and held his key at the ready. Above me, large chunks of rock hurtled to the earth. They landed and created large shockwaves with their arrivals. Sora rolled to the side to avoid an impending rock and jumped to avoid the shockwaves of energy. I raised my hand and began to summon power into it. A small red ball of energy sparked to life in my palm and began to grow. As it grew the small meteors began to circle around my body.

Sora jumped and dodged and avoided most of the circling rocks. The red ball in my hand grew until it shadowed the whole arena. I looked at Sora who was facing down and oncoming boulder. He wiped sweat and blood from his eyes and jumped toward it. He cut forward with his Keyblade and the rock burst into pieces. His hair fell about his face and he looked at me with a look of cold determination in his eyes. Those eyes spoke for themselves.

"You will not kill me here, so give me everything you have, I will not die for you."

The rocks around the arena exploded as a wave of energy gushed from the little boy. I slowly brought my hand down and the enormous red sphere began to fall toward Sora. He raised his Key and jumped head long toward it. The explosion rocked the Coliseum. Bright white light blinded me and fire burst forth from the sky. When I opened my eyes, I saw a silhouette against the sky above. It fell toward me with an outstretched hand and blocked out the sun.

"RAGNAROK!"

Sora's Keyblade connected again and again with my chest and stomach. When I could take no more I fell backwards onto my knee. Sora landed on his feet and looked at me. His eyes no longer looked to be so full of power. They seemed only to be the eyes of a young boy once again. I stepped back and clutched at my chest. Summoning more magic to my person I smiled slightly and caused light to form around me. Sora looked at me with kind and somewhat apologetic eyes. White light formed around me and I floated gently into the sky.

As the light coalesced about my body I let the Keychain fall from my outstretched fingers. In a burst of white light I teleported into the tunnel from where I had came. Sora was still staring at where I had disappeared. After some time he walked forward and reached down to grab the Keychain. He looked at it and smiled.

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I'm not sure I like the ending of this one…it was hard to bring a battle like that to a close. I really want your opinions on whether or not I did the fight justice. I think I did a good job but I'm not sure. Also I'm thinking of making the next chapter be the fight between Cloud and Seph. Couple of things I want your opinions on.

1. Should I go by the script? Should I use the dialogue that is used in Final Mix or should I make up my own? I can use the script, it would fit, but should I use some poetic license and try to spice it up a bit?

2. Should I even do that part next? I feel like two fights in a row would be kinda silly. Would you guys want that? Or should I take a break?

3. Should I try and continue this story past KH I story line? I think I could pull it off. Stuff with the XIII Order. It would be fine with me or should I just make a new story as a sequel or just end it at the end of the first game?

I value all of your opinions! Give them to me please! Speaking of which…I have so much gratitude for Unita and vratix for the awesome reviews you guys gave. Vratix…I hope I did Sora and Seph justice like you wanted. Tell me what you think alright dude? Thank yous to everyone for reading! You are all so cool!


	16. Altered Eyes

I don't own any of the characters or places below.

Thank you to heartsoblivion, Unita, Vratix, and Emmy19 for reviewing and giving me ideas of what to do. Read on my friends.

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Shadow Feather: Chapter 16

Altered Eyes

(see me again, but different)

Something inside me fell away as the brunette exited the stadium. A large lump of anxiety faded away. Some lump in my gut dissipated and left me feeling freer than I had ever felt in my life. For once, things weren't in my hands anymore. It wasn't up to me to see things fall into place. I wasn't the villain with the master plan anymore. I wasn't the hero with the mission. I wasn't responsible for what was to come. No matter what happened, it wouldn't be my fault.

With each breath I felt myself shed years of tension and responsibility. From the moment I picked up Masamune, I had always been in charge. I was released from the Soldier training camp by age six and by the time I turned eight I had my own regiment under me. I led those men into and out of death thousands of times. I was always responsible for them. That tension got to me in the end and I retreated from everyone. President Shinra took away my place as a general and put me into solo missions. The missions were just as difficult if not more so than the missions I had taken with a team.

Even then, working alone on the battle field, that responsibility came back to me. Assassinations and important "delegations and transactions" were assigned to me. Each one was of utmost importance for Shinra. And what was good for Shinra, was good for the people. I remember now the nightmares I would have back then. I was only a teenager. By all means I should have killed myself from the pressure but instead I fell deeper and deeper into insanity. I couldn't stop myself and became a cold and ruthless killer.

After the war with Wutai, I decided I could take no more. I remember marching into the large office of the President and demanding that he take me off the roster for S-class missions. We argued for some time but he let it go before I got violent. He started to put me on simple missions. "Investigate the claims of abnormal youth rebellion in X town." "Oversee the transportation of this somewhat important piece of machinery." Simple things like that.

After some time I began to allow Shinra to give me subordinates again. The military provided me with soldiers and Soldier would occasionally lend one of their members my way to see "the great general Sephiroth." Things were going well. Then I got my last order.

"There has been suspicious activity in one of the abandoned Mako reactors near Nibelheim. There have been reports of monsters as well. Zack will be accompanying you as well as your usual contingent of military personnel. I wish you luck."

Those were the last words President Shinra spoke to me. I took off without a word. Zack entertained the rest of the soldiers and I rode up front in the truck. It didn't take long to reach the small ghost town. We ran into minimal resistance with monsters…or maybe I was just too strong to give it any notice. We got into town. Cloud wanted to see his family. After spending the night, we took off with our young guide.

The bridge broke that day and we spent a couple more hours taking the long route through the mountains. After a long time we reached the Mako reactor. What we found inside…god I will never forget. Even now I look at my hands and wonder what allowed me turn out how I am and not like the things in those capsules. Zack and I discovered terrible mutated creatures inside capsules of the Nibelheim reactor. When I saw them something snapped inside me and I knew even without understanding how, that I could have been like them. All the members of Soldier were doused with light rays of Mako to help unlock more combat potential. But it was things like these that were exposed to much more. And I knew that I had been just like them.

In a rage I retreated to basement of the Shinra mansion. The tension of who I was and the responsibility I had toward others came smashing down on my shoulders at the same time from different directions. I couldn't hold it all. I broke. I snapped and gave in and tried to put all my faults on the far stronger shoulders of Jenova. I went to her, knowing what I was. Seeking answers. Seeking something beyond the meager notes and observations in the basement of that hellhole.

What I found was just what I wanted. A purpose. Something to take my mind off everything I was and everything I had to do. Every choice I had to make was now so clear because someone else was making them for me. It was everything I had every wanted. It didn't matter that the choices were obviously wrong. It didn't matter that I was rotting away on the inside from the crushing blows to my conscience. All that mattered was that I wasn't the one making those choices.

I reveled in that freedom, doing whatever she wanted as long as I got to stand back and think about nothing. In the end it wasn't freedom at all but just extra bars to some cage that I was building around myself. Is that what this is now? The same feeling of unimportance that I searched for and found before? Is Sora the new way out for me? Is making a decision so difficult? God, am I so weak?

That can't be it. It's not the same. I know it's not. This is just trusting someone else. When was the last time I did that? Am I really so self righteous that I can't recall a single time I allowed someone else to complete a task that directly effected me? In any case…I seem to turning over new leaves lately, why not the whole tree?

From across the arena, the waiting room door opened slowly. I looked toward it to see a large brown boot step out of the doorway. Above, one of my dark feathers slowly fell from the sky. It drifted slowly down from where I had disappeared from Sora's view. The boot was joined by its twin and Cloud strode purposefully through the door. He came to a stop and watched the gently floating dark feather.

The shadowy feather drifted downwards in a tiny spiral, spinning erratically in the tiny winds that came out of the door. It paused for a moment, casting a small shadow over the man's bright blue eyes. The flashed an electric azure and the shadow fled almost in fear. Dark and soft, the feather gently caressed the floor and landed without a noise.

Without thinking I stepped out from the tunnel that I stood in. My footsteps created echoes against the stone. I tread across the dirt patch and onto the beige tiles. Cloud's blazing eyes ran over my body and came to rest on my own glowing orbs. His piercing gaze sent a small shiver down my spine. I held my face and my tongue so as to betray no emotion. Cloud's lip curled slightly and he pulled the Buster Sword from its place on his back.

"So we meet at last." His voice tore through me and pulled relentlessly at my eyes, coaxing tears to well up behind them. The sadness was palpable and I felt as though I could reach out and grab it if the mood struck me. His blue eyes softened for a split second and he reached up to wipe a small tear of his own away.

I struggled fiercely against the torrent of sadness to speak without betraying my feelings. "I have been searching for you as well."

The hand gripping his sword shook violently. I could see his knuckles turn white where they were not covered by his glove. His sad eyes were overtaken with rage and hatred as he glared at me. I felt his anger toward me almost as a physical force. Nothing I could say would ever sway his opinion of me. What the hell am I supposed to do?

"As long as you exist, I can not wake from this nightmare. With you here, all I can see is darkness." Clouds voice cut and tore at my heart without relenting even for a moment. Something caught in my throat and I had to bite my tongue to keep from crying out. I'm not the same anymore. But anything I could have said would have fallen on deaf ears. Just as he had said, Cloud was blind. "You…are my darkness."

His last words bit deeper than all the others. With them came the realization that even though I could say nothing, actions do speak louder than words. Believe what you wish Cloud, I will show you who I really am.

"I was the one who drew you into darkness. It was you who realized there was never any other path for you but to walk forward into shadows. Come; let me show you what awaits even further down the path." I held my hand out to him with tears welling in my eyes. To hear myself talk like that again. To speak with true intent to harm someone else. It was too much. A single sparkling tear rolled gently down my cheek.

Cloud grabbed his Buster Sword in both hands and took a step forward. He was too enraged to see the tear, to see my true meaning behind the words I used. All around him red lightning crackled and shimmered. Small rocks began to lift from the ground.

"If this is what it takes…" I murmured.

I let my own energy pour out of me. Static shocks of blue danced all about my body. Small tremors shook the ground. The tear on my cheek evaporated as my power grew to a boil and the air around me shimmered with heat. Cloud shook his head to clear it and then leapt.

Our swords clashed and the stone beneath us cracked. Wind whirled all around and tore us from one another. Moving in unison we landed softly and whirled around to have our blades meet once again in the same deafening clang of steel. Ripples of power streaked out and created large ruptures in the stone. We broke apart again. For a moment we stood, each thinking the same thing, our power was matched, there was no hope in overpowering the other.

We once again flew at each other and began to trade tentative slashes and parries. The exchanges were light and cautious. When one would see that the blade would be blocked, they would pull away to prepare a defensive. The blades barely grazed each other with each strike. Whispers of steel on steel floated through the air of the arena. With each new attack we grew more cautious than before.

Cloud was looking desperately for some sort of opening, some sort of hole to drive his sword through. His eyes darted back and forth and the slashing walls of metal collided and pulled away once again. In a daring maneuver he drew me in with a feint and then leapt to the side of my thrusting Masamune. Whirling around me he brought the pommel of the buster sword down upon my neck.

Before I hit the ground my leg unfurled and kicked viciously out at the young man's hand. It struck and the Buster Sword flew high into the air. Cloud didn't give it a glance as it flew from his hand. Instead he kicked out with his own foot and his heel collided with the blunt edge of Masamune and sent it clattering across the stone tiles. With his cape whirling about himself he twisted in a complete 360 and brought his clawed fist smashing into my jaw.

White hot pain seared through my head but I fought through it and brought my foot up to throw Cloud head over heels across the grounds. His wing stretched out wide and he spun to land in a graceful crouch. Without any hesitation he came at me again, a whirl of flashing fists and boots. His elbow connected with my left breast as I regained my feet and sent me flying. I hit the ground on my back and saw a glint to my left. I reached out and grabbed the shimmering object from the ground.

When I regained my feet Cloud was tearing across the tiles with a gloved fist drawn back. Madness was in his eyes and as he brought his clenched hand forward I raised the sword in defense. The clawed fingers of Cloud's glove rang out against the steel of the Buster sword in my hand. We broke apart and landed on opposite sides of the arena.

Cloud stared at the sword in my hand and spat in disgusted disbelief. "What the fuck kind of trick is this?" He violently wiped a bead of sweat that was coursing down him temple. His eyes held distrust and rage at the thought of me holding his blade. "Only people who are pure of heart can hold that thing. So what trick are you playing Sephiroth?"

I glanced down at the sword and realized that Cloud was speaking the truth. Zack had told me the story of the Buster sword when he first came under my command. Only those without any wish to harm the innocent could wield it. I shouldered the sword and spat at the ground in front of me. "Maybe Zack was just screwing with you."

Cloud's eyes swirled in rage and he stepped forward, creating a small crater in the tiles from the power that emanated from him. "Don't you fucking talk about him like that!"

I whipped the blade forward and it flew toward Cloud. He didn't move an inch and the sword imbedded itself in the tile next to him. I bent down and picked up Masamune which was lying next to me. It quivered in annoyance that I had been holding another sword. "And why should you care? Is it because you feel responsible that he died?"

"Shut up."

"Just like someone else…"

"If you…

Gulping the tears back I pushed my face into a contorted grin. This was the last time I would make him feel this way. It was necessary if I wanted to keep my promise to her. I smiled and gestured widely. "Does it remind you of the Ancient?"

The tiles around Cloud exploded and disintegrated as his rage overtook him. He floated in the air, surrounded by heat shimmers as his energy sparked and emanated from him. His hair lost its shape and flailed wildly upwards with the updraft of wind. His black bat wing spread out and lost its shape, whipping and contorting in the flying pebbles. He held out his hand and the Buster sword flew to it. He grabbed it, nearly crushing the hilt with his grasp.

"That's enough!"

In the blink of an eye Cloud had crossed the arena and his blade was screaming up toward my face. His speed surprised me but I managed to teleport just as his blade bit into my side. I rematerialized with blood streaming down my side. I was standing behind Cloud as he finished his swing. Moving as fast as I could I reached out and grabbed the man from behind, holding him close to me. I buried my tear streaked face into his shoulder and held his arms to his side. He struggled in fury and kicked viciously at my shins. I held him against my chest and closed my tear filled eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cloud."

The world disappeared in front of us and was replaced by darkness. The Nexus stretched infinitely all around us. Cloud gasped and struggled even more violently. I held him tightly and we began to fly through the Nexus at breakneck speeds. Neither of us spoke and eventually Cloud stopped trying to break free. I never let go and even as the Heartless began to appear and come at us I still concentrated as hard as I could on one place.

We finally reached the destination and I let go of Cloud. He looked at me for a moment. His electric blue eyes swirled with confused emotions. For a moment he looked at me before I pushed him into the portal and into reality again. His eyes flashed once more into something of a half trusting gaze and then he blinked into reality. I remained behind in the darkness and waited for the Nexus to pull me along in its tide of destiny.

I've done everything I can…I hope it's enough.

Maybe I'll find out if everyone turned out ok someday.

For now I'll have to wait until I'm needed.

Floating forever on wings of shadow.

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Well, thanks to everyone's reviews, I have come to the conclusion that this really is the end of Shadow Feather. I am very glad that it came this far so fast. I am very proud of my work and even prouder that other people think that it was good as well. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it.

This isn't the end of Sephiroth's journey though…not at all. I have already written the first two chapters of the sequel Angel Memories which will center once again around Sephiroth. It will sort of follow him through Castle Oblivion, there will be some flashbacks to Final Fantasy 7 so if you haven't played that, shame on you and you should read it anyway because it's still pretty good. Of course, the main part will be about increasing the relationship with Riku and his interaction with the XIII order and probably DiZ as well.

Now I want to thank everyone individually who reviewed (except for Rocketto Neko because I can thank you in person) because I love you guys that much. Everyone who reviews this story after I put this up…I'm really sorry but I can't recognize you as well…if you want thankies then you should read Angel Memories, the sequel to this.

Kamikaziguy- Even though you only reviewed once, it was perhaps one of the most important. You gave me that initial push to get me in gear and I thank you for that.

Kmsaum- You did excellently by me. You were really the first person to give me multiple reviews and showed me that people read my story and read it with care as well. I am proud to be on your favorites list. You seemed to drop off after Chapter 8 so I hope you read and review the second half of the story because I really enjoy reading what you have to say and I am sure you would enjoy the writing.

Brett A. Longman- First I would like to apologize to you for giving you a negative review on your story. I meant it to be constructive criticism and I'm sorry if I came across as being sort of a Sephiroth fic writer elitist. I apologize and I can understand that you didn't choose to review my story any more. Thank you for the one you gave me though.

Generic Soda- You are one of the few people who read both Shadow Feather and Drunken Hearts and left reviews of both. I'm sorry if I got you in trouble with your brother for reading Drunken Hearts. Thank you very much for the reviews!

Lapse-Raevn- Thank you for your review! Also you were one of the first two people to review on Angel Memories, thank you for having such interest in my writing!"

F00l3Al2- Thank you as well for your review! Sorry I don't have much to say about you…

Emmy19- Although your constant questioning as to whether or not I have played CoM got somewhat bothersome, I really ad truly appreciate your reviews! You are one of the surprisingly few people who actually had a clear cut idea of where I should go at the end of this. I appreciate that a lot.

Vratix- Coming in near the end you helped me with the ending push of how to bring Shadow Feather to an end. I liked getting your reviews. You seemed to have a very intuitive view of how I was writing that other people either didn't pick up on or didn't comment on. It was good to see someone see it so clearly.

heartsoblivion- I love your story! I am really sorry I haven't gotten around to finishing reading and reviewing it. I really appreciate your reviews and then the one on Angel Memories! It's really nice to see that people are interested so much in my writing that they would move so fast to read other works. Thank you for the cookies!

Rain Raider- I was wondering when you would review. Thank you so much for reading the story. I'm glad you think I'm talented!

noname- It's clear that you put a lot of thought into your review. It was nice to hear someone who wasn't just in awe of the writing, not that that's bad at all. You helped me decrease the size of my head. I was like "8/10? I deserve more than that!" But after taking a look at your other reviews and going over my own work I am very happy with a score like that. I thank you for reading so carefully and being completely honest. Although I must disagree with you on the subject of Ansem vs. Sephiroth because Sephiroth can pwn anyone he feels like at any time. He just didn't do that in this fic because that would get boring.

Lu- Erm…thanks for the cookie?

Chosenoneknuckles- Last review before I moved onto Angel Memories! I am glad you like it!"

Xsaturnine- Perhaps you are the most important reviewer of this fic. Unbeknownst to you, I went through some very difficult nights when I just didn't want to write and couldn't for the life of me think of what to do or say. I would log onto the site with a heavy heart and lo and behold I would have a review less than a day after I updated. You made me feel special and like it was really worth it to finish this fic. I would like to know where you went after chapter 13. I miss you. In any case I hope you at least read the rest of the fic because I think you would appreciate it. Also Angel Memories when you get the chance.

Unita- My last thank you goes to you. Your reviews always made me feel warm inside…cept the first one which was short. As I reached the end of this story, hearing you say that I could actually make people cry with my writing…it shocked and amazed me…I owe a lot to you and your constant reviews. Between yourself and xsaturnine, you kept me writing this fic. I am deeply indebted to you and I hope you enjoy Angel Memories just as much, although it seems like you will, seeing as how you were the first to review! Thank you very much my Finland friend. (Just a quick personal question…do you ever listen to Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica? I love those bands and I think they come from Finland right?)


	17. Collateral

Yea…so I was rereading Shadow Feather…and I just had to make this extra chapter. It's just a silly little thing I thought up while I was bored and alone. Nothing serious…just kinda funy. And I wanted Shadow Feather to see the front page one last time.

And yea…this is a cop-out for the lack of update in Angel Memories as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own the people or places mentioned below.

…

I'll disclaim your mom.

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Shadow Feather: Bonus Track

Collateral

(my Bad)

"What in the HELL happened here?" The small goat man fell to his knees (which one would think is difficult if you take a look at his picture) and let his jaw fall to the floor beneath him. His pupils shrank as though trying to hide from the scene before him. With shaking hands, he reached down and picked up a piece of the ceiling. After inspecting the piece of stone for a moment, it crumbled and blew away with a passing breeze. "Where…where did that breeze come from?" the creature glanced around the lobby with hollow eyes. "We are _inside_, there SHOULDN'T BE BREEZES!"

"Oh calm down Phil." A tall muscular man stepped carefully over a pillar that lay in the middle of the floor. He stopped next to the prostrate man and kicked idly at a suspension beam that lay at his feet. "This isn't all that bad."

The bearded creature turned on the man. His eyes regained their regular pupil size and then filled with rage. He stood up and brushed roof shingles off his knees. For several seconds, he stared incredulously at the demi-god in front of him. "Not so bad?" His voice was quiet but dangerous. "Not so bad you say…" Once again he bent down and retrieved a stone from the rubble he was standing on. He hefted the rock in his hand and then whipped it at his companion's skull. It flew true and smashed loudly against the hero's head. Surprised but unhurt, the man brushed the pieces that had fallen onto his shoulder away.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT I JUST THREW AT YOU?" Philocetes exploded violently.

"Erm…no?" the muscle man said carefully. Phil shook with rage and stomped his tiny hooves on the stone beneath his them.

"That…was a piece…OF THE SOUTHEASTERN WALL!" He struggled to bring himself under control. After ten deep breaths he spoke again. "Do you know where we are right now, Herc?"

"The lobby," Hercules replied with growing suspicion.

Phil nodded with a smiling face and patted Hercules on the shin with mock affection. "Good job. Now…do you understand the fact that the Southeaster wall is on the COMPLETE OPPOSITE END OF THE COLISEUM?" With that outburst, Phil's face began to turn a sickly deep shade of red. Hercules took a step back and then peered through an enormous hole in the lobby wall.

"Was," he said meekly.

Phil stopped shaking and turned a terrifying eye on the hero. "What…do you mean by…'was'?"

Hercules took another step back and leaned against a pillar with discomfort. The pillar shattered and crumbled instantly but Hercules caught himself with a stumble. He smiled weakly and rubbed the back of his head. "The Southeast wall _was_ on…the opposite…side…of a moment, Phil looked as though he had turned to stone. He remained completely silent and made no movement except for the occasional involuntary twitch. Then, with a sigh, the man looked up at Hercules and smiled weakly. "Well crap." Stepping carefully he levered himself onto the largest pile of rubble he could find, resting on top of locker that had somehow made its way to ground level from the underground locker rooms. "Well you should probably get to work if we want to be ready for Kingdom Hearts 2."

"What?" Hercules said.

And then the fourth wall broke.

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I had originally mean this to be longer…but decided…not to…have it be that way.

I think it's funny. Erm…I kind of have nothing else to say. Have a nice day everybody…and the next chapter of Angel Memories will be out by the end of Tuesday. Tonight if I get lucky. Feel free to IM me and tell me to get my ass to work. Screenname is dontevenbother76.


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